Top Hat
by brunette89
Summary: What happens when Hatter follows Alice through the mirror? Shenanigans, of course! Hatter must figure out how live a normal life in a world he doesn't understand. What is normal? Not Hatter, that's for sure! Adult in nature at times, so no kiddies. I own nothing!
1. Mother, May I?

**Begins right after the kiss we waited three hours for :) If you read and enjoy, please review!**

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"Your mum's mortified, isn't she," Hatter whispered, nose-to-nose with Alice. She glanced in the mirror and then back at him, making a face.

"Well, she's not ecstatic. Kiss me again, and then I'll explain things to her." Alice held tightly to his lapels as he kissed her for the third time since surprising her. He smelled incredible, as always, cologne he would later insist he 'was born with' (but really just came from a little bottle of something his mother gave him when he was 16).

Alice grabbed his hand and turned to face her mother, whose jaw remained firmly fastened to the floor.

"Mom, this is Ha-David. David Hatter. I have known him since High School… I ran into him the other day at Starbucks and realized I still have feelings for him… It didn't seem right to accept Jack's proposal when I had feelings for someone else." Alice smiled.

"It was luck that I found her at the construction site, we were working overtime," Hatter added. "I'm sorry I didn't mention I knew her; I was afraid she might not make it and I didn't want to put any of my own emotions on you, Mrs. Hamilton."

The lie was easy, simple even. The story had flaws, like why she'd never mentioned him before, how strong her feelings were for him in high school, what had happened to Jack. Why she not only kissed a strange man but also made out with him in the middle of the living room.

"Mom, please, come sit down," Alice led Carol over to the couch and sat down. Hatter stood behind the wingback chair nervously, fiddling with the brim of his black fedora. It's smooth fabric did not quite have the calming effect of his favorite straw chapeau, but Charlie had declared him a 'harbinger hobo' in his favorite hat, so he'd settled on a more classic choice to leap universes. Carol sent Hatter a puzzled glance before setting her lips in a tight line.

"Look, I know you're probably wondering about Jack," Alice reasoned, intercepting a radiating prickle from Hatter at the mention of his former romantic rival.

"You could say that," Carol squeaked.

"Jack thought I'd cheated on him when I told him I had feelings for somebody else, so he went back to England. He was a prick about it actually," Alice laughed, not because Jack had actually been a prick about Hatter, but because Hatter seemed to be radiating a particularly smug energy.

"What did he say to you?" Carol asked softly, indicating ever so slightly with her eyes that it was safe for Hatter to sit in the chair his hat was resting on.

"He said that he was a little jealous that he'd never been the sole object of my affection, asked who 'the lucky guy' was, and told me to have a nice life." This was more or less true. Jack had either said or been the subject of all of those statements, but he'd never been a jerk about it. Save the time he'd walked in on Hatter and Alice's near-kiss in the forest. Then he'd been a prick.

"I went after him to try to apologize, but I must've fallen and hit my head in the construction site; he always walks through it on the way back to his place and I thought I could intercept him there." Alice squeezed Carol's hand but her mother said nothing. Hatter nervously cleared his throat. Keeping silent was torture for the most talkative man in Wonderland, but he wasn't in Wonderland anymore and knew that his future with Alice was dependant upon his remaining absolutely silent, while her lioness-of-a-mother made up her mind about him.

"So… that's how it happened," Alice said needlessly, nervously. If Hatter had been a sweater, which he wasn't, he would've had saucer-sized pit stains at this point. Consequently, his fedora now looked more like a bowler. Hatter knew that Jack was a charismatic S.O.B., and the only thing he had in common with the Prince was a Wonderland upbringing and a charming articulation of the tongue. The fact that his charming tongue had just been down her daughter's throat, he hoped would be moot.

"I should probably go," He stood quickly, after debating whether or not running to the front door would hurt his standing. It had been almost 2 minutes since Alice spoke but it felt like 20 and he was beginning to perspire for the first time in his life. He could bluff over a hand of low cards with a gun to his head and sleep fully clothed in 100 degree weather, all without a drop of sweat, but Carol was a whole new animal, and he wasn't too confident.

"No need," Carol finally spoke and Alice let out a heavy breath of relief. It seemed as if Glinda herself had suddenly possessed Carol's body as she smiled brightly, stood, and embraced Hatter like the son she never had. "Won't you stay for dinner? I'm making meatloaf," Carol tottered off to the kitchen, humming a cheery tune and Alice just stared after her.

"Huh," Hatter laughed, looking at Alice. "That went… better then I thought it would," He said quietly so Carol wouldn't hear. Alice stood and went to him, hugging him.

"She can't possibly be that chipper about this… and if she is, I live a charmed life." Alice laughed and kissed Hatter again gently.

"I'm sorry I came without warning you," He whispered, brushing her cheek.

"It's ok, Hatter, really. I would rather you show up unannounced then not at all. How long are you here?" She felt a pang in her chest at the thought of him leaving again.

"How long until you get sick of me?" He asked after a brief moment of internal debate.

"David! Do you like tea?" Carol called cheerily from the kitchen, squashing any further conversation about the future.

"Love it, Mrs. Hamilton!" He called back, smiling at Alice. "Let's talk about this later."

"Are you free tonight?" She asked.

"Well… I'll have to check my schedule," He grinned, leading her towards the kitchen door where Carol had just appeared like June Cleaver herself.

Though Carol looked like Mrs. Cleaver, she certainly didn't cook like her. Hatter found himself in the bathroom, returning the rubber meatloaf to the evening air. He was highly embarrassed to retch in Alice's house, until Alice showed up a few minutes later and also deposited the contents of her stomach in the porcelain receptacle. They both rinsed their mouths out with mouthwash several times and returned to the kitchen with the explanation that Hatter was jet-lagged and she had gone to check on him. Unfortunately for them, their relationship would always be explained by lies to anyone outside of Wonderland. Alice instructed Hatter to wait for her outside the apartment and she pulled on the velvet coat that had belonged to her since Hatter had given it to her the day they'd met. He brought it with him to her world; it was his first gift to her.

"Mom? I'm going out with David for a bit, but I'll be back late," Alice called, hoping Carol heard over the running sink.

"Don't worry about it, honey! Stay at David's tonight," Carol returned casually, causing Alice to physically freeze in place. Her mother had just given her permission to do anything short of moving in with Hatter. Sleeping at his place. Sleeping at his place in his bed. Even, say, sleeping at his place, in his bed, sans clothes. Other things.

"Ok! Goodnight!" Alice finally found words and scrambled out the door before her good graces took over and her mother's reverse psychology seeped its way into her better judgment. If her mother mentioned sex, Alice would probably join a convent of her own volition. Mothers worked in mysterious, guilt-giving ways and Carol was like Jiminy Cricket.

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**A/N: Voila! I hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. If it Pleases You

**Hooray for chapter 2! If you read it, feed it. :)**

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"Let me get this straight: you have no place to live, no money, no job, just a suitcase full of hats and paisley shirts?" Alice repeated back to him calmly. She wasn't angry, not in the slightest. She was stunned.

"Well I did say I didn't have much to offer you," He laughed nervously, suddenly feeling like maybe he shouldn't have eaten three slices of pizza before admitting his poverty. Alice rubbed her face and sighed.

"You're mad. Oh Gods, I told Jack I needed money for you, that I needed some kind of ID or papers or something, at least his old apartment here and the wanker wouldn't give it to me, he told me he didn't condone my leaving Wonderland, that he'd have my head if I hurt you, I just don't, I dunno what I thought I'd do when I got here – "

"Hatter." She spoke so softly, it frightened him. He looked like a kicked puppy as he peered at her across the table.

"It's ok. You're here with me, that's what matters," She took his hand across the table. "But this is going to be a large problem if we don't figure something out. You can't be homeless, number one, and number two, you don't have any sort of ID to help you get a job so you can't save for an apartment." Hatter rubbed the back of her hand thoughtfully, fully aware of the burden he had placed on Alice by coming to her world without personal affects.

"I'm sorry, if I had known that it would be such a problem – "

"You wouldn't have come?" She pulled her hand away quickly, stung.

"No, no, no! I would've punched Jack Heart in the face and then gone to Caterpillar," He exclaimed. "I'd go back for papers, but I'm not sure the Looking Glass is still open."

The waiter came by and they immediately stopped talking, sitting back in their chairs. The young man refilled their waters unenthusiastically, not even bothering to make eye contact or any other sort of human response beyond a faint grunt when Alice thanked him for the refill. As soon as he was out of hearing distance, she leaned forward again.

"Well, it's too late to get help from the Resistance now," Alice said gently. "Tonight I'll sneak you into my apartment and you can sleep in my bed…" Hatter grinned mischievously and raised an eyebrow. Alice rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"Tomorrow I'll ask and hopefully Mom likes you enough to let you sleep on the couch for awhile. Meanwhile…"

"Meanwhile, I'd be taking advantage of your mum's kindness and your hospitality." Hatter sighed heavily. It would be worth all the trouble ahead to stay with her, but he couldn't help but feel discouraged. He had nowhere to start, no personal connections. The only person who could even begin to help him was Alice, and he was pretty sure that she didn't deal in the Black Market.

"Tell you what, let's make a deal," She shifted and sat on her feet so she could lean closer. "We'll take things one day at a time. If you have to sneak into my room every night until we can find you your own place, that's fine with me, but let's not completely stress ourselves out over this. Deal?"

"Deal," Hatter agreed heartily, thankful that one of them was sensible. He kissed her swiftly across the table, earning a glare of disapproval from an ancient couple at the next table. "You know something? Even though we have a lot to deal with, I like the fact that it's OUR problems, not just mine. Makes it feel like things have a better chance of working out."

Alice smiled gently and felt her stomach fill with butterflies. That's what really made it all worth it. That feeling he gave her. She wasn't sure if she could call that feeling by a name, not yet… but it sure felt right.

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"I have something to confess," She said softly when they were on the subway. Hatter had a protective hand on her knee, wary of every man on board, sketchy or not.

"You're secretly an heiress?" He joked as new passengers got on the train. Alice smirked and sat on his lap to make room for an older woman, latching her arms around his neck.

"Good one," She teased, ruffling his hair. " No… Look - " She bent her head down to his ear so only he could hear her.

"I'm absolutely ecstatic that you're here and I never ever want you to leave… but I'm not sure I'm a good enough reason to leave Wonderland." She hugged him so she didn't have to make eye contact and see his response, but she felt it acutely as he tightened his arms around her waist.

"How could I possibly live without you?" He whispered simply.

The train lurched to a stop and Alice silently unfolded herself from Hatter's lap, holding fast to his hand as they hurried out the doors. She said nothing more to him, made no attempts at conversation, just lead him two blocks to the alley behind her house where they could climb the fire escape. He jumped and pulled down the rusty sliding ladder, which she immediately scurried up. Hot on her heels, Hatter skipped every other rung on the way up and pulled the ladder up behind them quickly. Alice took his hand again and led him up three flights of escape stairs to her bedroom window.

Once inside, Alice attacked him, tackling him on her bed and kissing him hard. Hatter moved her to her back and echoed her vigor, running his tongue across her bottom lip. She threaded her fingers through his hair and inclined her head as he deepened the kiss. His hands played at the hem of her shirt, tantalizing the skin at her waist. Hatter placed a kiss behind her ear and trailed down her neck, a sensation that set Alice's nerves on fire. His shirt didn't unbutton itself, but Alice certainly didn't remember doing it when she was brought back to reality by Carol's knock on the door. Alice jumped up almost instantaneously and Hatter practically fell off the bed trying to sit up and find a place to hide.

"Alice, honey? Is that you?" Carol called innocently. Alice made a series of signs indicating her closet and Hatter quickly opened the door as silently as possible and hid.

"One second!" Alice called, brushing her hair and straightening her clothes. She flung open the door anxiously to find a confused Carol.

"I didn't hear you come in!" Carol smiled and Alice's stomach did a back flip. She hoped her red lips didn't betray her; had she not had the forethought to wrap a scarf around her neck, Carol might've noticed a little hickey forming at the base of her throat.

"I wasn't sure if you were awake so I went up the fire escape," Alice felt relieved to tell at least one truth; lying to Carol and getting away with it was like training Cujo and Alice felt like she was in danger whenever she lied to her mother.

"Oh… I thought you weren't coming home tonight."

"Well, David has some things to work out so I came home." Also true.

"Ok honey. Well I'm off to bed now, I'll see you tomorrow!" Carol kissed her daughter's cheek. Alice closed her door and practically collapsed on her bed, covering her face with her hands.

"You can come out," She giggled when Hatter remained in her closet.

"Hmmm… I dunno, it's nice in here," He said through the door and Alice laughed.

"What are you talking about? It's a tiny closet," She scoffed. Hatter opened the door slowly, giving her a look like he had a big secret and it made Alice bite her lip. He held up a pair of black lace panties on one finger wordlessly and raised an eyebrow. Alice closed her eyes, groaning.

"Oh god… you found my underwear…"

Not only had he found her underwear, he had found her red tights, a pair of stripper heels from a few Halloweens ago, and a leather mini skirt with a matching leather bra leant to her by her junior year college roommate. Hatter grinned mischievously, balancing the rest of his finds in his hand like a tray of fine china.

"All I'm gonna say is, these could come in handy." He winked, set the pile of useful clothing on top of her dresser, and sauntered over to her, kneeling down on the floor between her knees.

"For what? Your school boy fantasies?" Alice laughed, sitting up and kissing him.

"Of course not," He scoffed. "For meeting my parents." Hatter smiled, propping his head up on her knee and stroking her shin. Alice punched his arm playfully, trying to keep quiet.

"Where are your things?" She asked suddenly, remembering the mention of a suitcase full of hats from earlier.

"Stashed." He said, matter-of-factly.

"Stashed WHERE?"

"You'd be surprised the kind of hiding places I found on my way here."

"You're not gonna tell me where they are, are you…"

"Nope. Might come in handy someday," Hatter kissed her nose and stood up, shucking off his jacket and tossing it over one of the posts on her headboard.

Alice lay down, looking up at him like she had a million and one questions. It felt almost too easy for him to be there with her; despite his lack of housing, funds, and papers, he was off Scott free as far as Alice could tell. It couldn't have been that easy of a choice to leave Wonderland behind, no matter what he said.

"How long did you wait to leave Wonderland?" She asked as he explored all the kitsch around her room.

"Two weeks," He calculated. "It took Charlie three days alone to get me to eat, talk, or sleep after you left and three more to convince me that you really wanted to be with me."

"Smart guy, that Charlie," She grinned, feeling a twinge of tenderness for the white knight.

"Smartest guy I know," Hatter agreed with a laugh. He pointed to a first place trophy for judo on one of her shelves and gave her an impressed thumbs-up.

"What took you eight more days to leave?"

"Deciding what I wanted to bring with me, selling the rest, making arrangements for the shop. Charlie now has a rather large flat with grass for carpet and a rather valuable, albeit illegal, stash of tea." He found the garage sale teacup and saucer that held her jewelry and held it up to her light to examine it closely. "Exquisite," He mumbled under his breath, replacing it reverently on her desk.

"How did you know where I live?" She sat up, tucking her feet under herself.

"Car- your father's Resistance file. Caterpillar kept a file on every high-standing official in the Queen's regime, in case he needed some sort of blackmail material. Dormy stole it for me years ago, way before you fell through the Looking Glass. It has papers on everything you could possibly know about your father, including his address and the address of his family. The only thing it didn't tell me was that I'd fall in lo-" He caught himself and cleared his throat, ears burning slightly. "Anyway… You might be amused to know that 10's real name is Tennyson. Tennyson Octavian Colbert."

"Ten… of… Clubs," Alice figured after a moment, giggling with delight. She had caught Hatter's near slip of phrase, but kept any comment on the subject to herself. No matter how flattered she was by this near-confession, she was still impossibly afraid of letting him completely in and thinking about him being in love with her would only fuel her desire to run. The less she thought about naming what they had between them, the more she was willing to let the chips fall where they may.

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**A/N: I just really enjoy writing Hatter and Alice. I hope you liked it too!**


	3. Street Smarts

**Getting naughtier... be prepared! As always, please let me know what you think :)**

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To say that Alice had naughty dreams that night is an understatement. She was highly paranoid that her mother would hear something, anything, and figure out that Hatter was spending the night, so they didn't do anything potentially… compromising. Apparently Alice's subconscious had wanted to because her dreams were all filled with Hatter wearing little more then a hat.

They hadn't gotten to sleep until well into the morning; Alice had endless questions for him about his life. The only things she knew about him for sure was that he was attractive and caring. And trustworthy.

She now knew more about him then she thought possible. His parents wanted little to do with him since he started selling teas but he'd never been very close to them anyway. He had no brothers and sisters, was allergic to Xorbinum (whatever that was), and had dropped out of University after the Hearts took control. He also liked to sleep in, something that might prove to be a problem if he continued to sleep over. Alice had been up for hours by the time he finally woke up.

"Good morning," She giggled, bouncing on the edge of the bed next to him as he rubbed his eyes. Hatter smiled sleepily.

"Morning." He yawned.

"How'd you sleep?" Alice asked, holding onto her knees. Hatter sat up, sheet pooling around his waist and reminding Alice how much energy it had taken to restrain herself from jumping him the night before. He was shirtless and much more muscular than she had anticipated. He must've noticed that she was nearly frothing at the mouth because he smirked and put a finger under her chin, leveling their eyes and producing a rosy blush in her cheeks.

"Probably about the same as you," He chuckled. Alice laughed, embarrassed.

"If that's the case, you'd better put a shirt on," She winked, trying to recover. Hatter raised an eyebrow and leaned back on his elbows seductively. "David Hatter, stop looking at me like that," Alice breathed, relinquishing her spot on the bed for the safety of her desk chair.

"How am I looking at you?" Hatter asked innocently, folding his hands behind his head and leaning against the headboard.

"Like I would really like you to when we're not at my mom's apartment that has paper-thin walls," She warned, trying not to smile.

"Can I look at you like this on the subway?" He quipped, pulling back the sheets and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Alice immediately felt nervous and cleared her throat. She had forgotten that he just slept in silk boxers.

"N-no. No."

"Pizza Hut?" He stood up and ambled towards her. Alice stood and put the chair between them in case temptation proved too much and she allowed herself to jump his very alluring bones. Hatter grinned, putting his hands on the chair and leaning towards her. If her neighbors across the alley looked out their window they'd have a nice shot of a scruffy Hatter in purple silk undershorts trying to seduce her. Luckily, her neighbors across the alley never opened their curtains.

"Nope," She laughed nervously, pulling her hands out from under his and folding them behind her back.

"How about your whatchacallit…"

"Dojo?"

"Yes. How about your Dojo?"

"No, especially not there. And in case you're wondering, you can't look at me like that at church either." She made a beeline for her dresser, which stood right next to her window, pretending to look for a cardigan or something. Hatter chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"So… that's a no," He murmured in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. Alice nearly gave in but for a sudden motherly knock on her door.

"Alice? I have your blue dress back from the dry cleaners. Can I come hang it in your closet?" Carol called cheerfully.

"Shit!" Alice exclaimed. Hatter made a beeline for her closet and she followed, grabbing his arm and tugging him towards the window.

"You've gotta be kidding me," He whispered as she gestured out the window.

"One second Mom, getting dressed!" Alice called. "Come on, you have to, there's nowhere else for you to hide!"

"Fine, but at least hand me my pants!" He gestured back to her desk where they were folded. Alice did him one better, running across the room to grab his pants, shirt, jacket and shoes and thrusting them into his arms.

"Is everything alright?" Carol asked through the door.

"Yup, just can't decide which shirt to wear!" Alice answered, throwing open the window and then shutting it sharply as soon as Hatter was on the fire escape. She drew the curtains quickly and made her bed as fast as she could. "Come in!" Alice called, sitting at her desk. As the door swung open, Alice glanced at the black fedora hanging guiltily over her bedpost. Her stomach dropped; she hoped Carol wouldn't notice.

"They said that they had to run it through twice to get all that dirt out!" Carol said, practically skipping over to Alice's closet to hang up the dress.

"Huh." That was all Alice could say.

"How was your date with David?" Carol sat on the bed.

"Good."

"What did you two do?"

"Pizza." Only one word at a time was finding its way into Alice's brain.

"Oh! Where'd you go?"

"Brother's."

"Brother's is the absolute best!" Carol approved. "Did he pay?"

"Yes," Alice lied. He had no money; Alice could expect to pay for dates for a while. Unless of course Hatter took up busking or swindling, which she wouldn't entirely put past him.

"Oh of course he did, he just seems like such the Gentleman. Where's he from? It didn't sound like he was from around here." Carol straightened the sloppy comforter around her, ever the organizer.

"England," Alice squeaked. For all she knew, Hatter was still standing on the fire escape in his underwear.

"Ooooh! Those Brits really know how to breed 'em. He's quite handsome. Scruffy, just your type," Carol teased.

"Yeah," Alice laughed. The only conversation Carol had ever listened to was the one when Alice declared her type to be scruffy men; tall, dark, handsome, and an eternal 5 o'clock shadow. Jack hadn't been her type, something Carol never commented on, but Alice registered her surprised expression when they'd be introduced. Hatter wasn't particularly tall but he was dark haired and impossibly handsome, scruff shadowing his jaw like a compliment.

"Well, isn't he just great! I think he's just great. Poor guy, getting sick from Jet lag last night. Where was he flying from?"

"Home."

"Oh, England! What's that, like 16 hours? I can only imagine how tired he must've been! And that airline food, no wonder he got sick!" Carol shook her head, as if Hatter throwing up at her apartment was the worst thing that ever happened. "Well he is a trooper."

Alice just wanted her mother to leave; if you got Carol going, she could have a conversation with herself. All you had to do was sit there and twitch in response and she'd monologue about whatever crossed her mind. The fact that it also crossed her lips was a fault that Alice had never felt particularly enthusiastic about growing up. Prom dress shopping had been a nightmare that only intense psychotherapy could force her to relive.

"Jeeze, it's dark in here. And stuffy!" Carol noticed after Alice didn't respond. "Well we'll take care of that." Before Alice could even process what she was doing, Carol threw open the curtains and pulled up the window. Alice held her breath for Hatter's discovery but nothing happened. "Much better!"

"Thanks for getting my dress cleaned," Alice finally managed.

"It's no problem, honey. I had to get my itty-bitty tea (little black dress in Carol terms) cleaned for the Memorial Day Gala anyway. Oh, new hat?" She asked, pointing to the obviously male cap.

"Uh… yeah. Cam bought it for me." Alice covered, trying to ignore the onset of panic.

"Oh that's nice of her." Carol smiled and nearly flounced out of the room, turning back suddenly and pointing at her daughter. "You know I've been thinking, I think you should stop teaching Judo for awhile. Besides, who knows how much time you'll have to spend with David if you continue like you have been."

Alice thought she might faint.

"Oh… yeah. They have plenty of other people who can teach. I'll call later." She nodded slowly.

"Good. You need all the time you can get." Carol smiled, closing Alice's door behind her. Alice might've cried but the doorbell rang and she heard Carol's singsong greeting of none other than David Hatter.

"DAY-vid! Come IIIN!" She sang and Alice laughed out loud. Well, she had to give him credit for climbing out the window in just his skivvies, dressing in the open air, and coming around to the front door. She opened her bedroom door and walked down the hall, regaining composure. When she turned the corner, not only was Hatter in a completely different outfit, he looked as if he had showered. He smiled as if he hadn't seen her since the previous night and hugged her.

"How in the world-" Alice whispered through clenched teeth.

"Later," He responded. "Well, Mrs. Hamilton – "

"Puh-lease! Call me Carol!" Alice thought her mom might be over-compensating for something… she was never that friendly. To anyone.

"Carol," Hatter corrected. "Might I steal Alice for the day?"

"Of course, of course! Go!" Carol waved towards the door. Alice led Hatter towards the front door, escape essential to her sanity at this point. "Oh! Alice! Bring David back for dinner! I'm making lamb!"

"Unfortunately, I already made dinner reservations," Hatter said as suavely as he could muster. "Another night, perhaps?"

"Very well," Carol smiled. "See you kids later!" Alice grabbed Hatter's hand and pulled him out of the apartment as quick as possible. Once the door was shut and locked, Alice ran a hand through her hair and made for the elevator.

"You made dinner reservations?" She asked after pressing the button. Hatter looked guilty.

"No… I'm just a little afraid of your mother's cooking," He confessed and Alice finally relaxed, laughing.

"Oh God… you're so much nicer than I am. Normally I don't let her get anywhere near the kitchen but she insists on cooking until I'm off medication," Alice explained as the doors to the elevator opened.

"You're on medication?" Hatter asked, shocked. In Wonderland, 'on medication' meant mind-numbing tranquilizers and a week at the Hospital of Dreams.

"Just pain-killers. For my head, apparently I hit it pretty hard, and since I don't remember hitting it, they're probably right," She laughed, but Hatter frowned.

"That's really not good for you, Alice."

"I know. I promise I'll try to keep my head away from hard surfaces – "

"No, I mean… pain killers. They're addictive," He said, so seriously that Alice put her hand on his arm.

"Hatter, don't they have pain-killers in Wonderland?"

"Yeah. They're called 'Bliss', 'Solace', and 'Serenity', and they're all a one-way ticket to the Hospital of Dreams." He looked incredibly worried.

"Hey," She took his hand. "It just keeps my brain from swelling and giving me really bad headaches. As far as I know, nobody's been institutionalized for taking one 800 mg Ibuprofen pill a day in… this world. Trust me."

"Ok… but I still don't like it." He conceded, following her out of the elevator on the ground floor.

"Mind telling me how you changed and showered?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Ah. If I told you that, I'd have to tell you where I hid my things." He grinned and Alice stopped abruptly, turning back to him.

"Tell me, or I'll tell my mom you love her cooking."

Hatter looked extremely conflicted. If he told her, he wouldn't have any secrets from her whatsoever, and what's the fun in that? But if he didn't tell her, he'd end up worshiping the porcelain gods every night for the rest of his life and probably die of food poisoning.

"Ok, fine. There's this place around the corner called the YMCA. It's just for men and they have these little metal boxes with locks on them that you can put your stuff in and a really big community bath, which I don't really understand, why men would want to bathe together I'm not really sure… but that's where my stuff is." He smiled as if he had discovered his own personal Utopia, not the neighborhood rec center.

"You showered at the Y?" Alice laughed.

"Yep. Who knew your world was so reverent of men?" He said with a great deal of approval. Alice just rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Come on, I want to get some coffee," She lead him to the subway, a machine Hatter christened 'the beast' after it roared to a stop in front of them.

Alice's best friend Cam worked at a little coffee shop called The Prague that was practically hidden in between a bicycle repair shop and a tattoo parlor; the only indication of its existence was a rusty sign over a black door with '1/2' painted in silver letters on its face. It was really just half of a storefront that used to house a smoke shop that had gone under after its ancient owner passed away and left all of his worldly possessions to his cat 'Gus'. Gus had been found behind a radiator by the landlord and given to the Humane Society, where a family who renamed him 'Sparkles' had adopted him. Sparkles was hit by a car, an accident he miraculously survived, though he was three-legged the rest of his life. Which ended up being another two months. He was 19 years old, after all. Cam bought the space after college and Alice had gotten her coffee there faithfully for years.

"Alice! Oh my god!" Cam practically tackled Alice as they entered the dimly lit coffee house.

"Hi Cam," Alice smiled. "This is my… David Hatter."

"Nice to meet you," Cam shook his hand, shooting Alice an impressed look. "What can I get you guys?" She asked, wiping down the counter.

"Um… a mocha for me, and…"

"Chamomile tea," Hatter smiled, pleased that he recognized at least one thing on the menu. Alice paid for their drinks (a mere $2, Cam never let her pay full price) and found a little corner for them to sit in. The shop was surprisingly packed for being just a block from Starbucks and almost every other table was full. Suddenly, Alice got an idea.

"I'll be right back," She said to Hatter, jumping up and running over to the counter. She whispered with Cam for a good five minutes, writing something down on a pad of paper and handing it to Cam. Cam nodded, smiled, and hugged Alice across the counter. Alice returned and smiled victoriously at Hatter over her cup of coffee.

"Cam has just agreed to help you get a fake ID," Alice announced. "It won't really help you get a job but it will buy us some time until I can figure out a way to get in touch with Charlie."

"Oh, that's nice of her," Hatter said, surprised. "What can I do with a fake ID? Won't people know it's fake?"

"Not necessarily. And if we want to go to a bar or something you'll be able to drink."

"And I couldn't do that without one?" He asked, puzzled.

"No, you have to be 21 with a current ID to drink at a bar."

"Oh… ok. Cool," He smiled.

"Meanwhile… we need to find you a better place for your things and for you to shower, like you're own place… Not that you're not resourceful," She laughed.

"What's wrong with the YMCA?"

"Well for one thing, there are a series of communicable diseases that one can contract in public showers… and if you give me some sort of foot fungus, we'll have a problem."

"Did I hear you say you need a place to stay?" Cam asked, coming over to them and sitting on the arm of Alice's chair.

"Yeah he does."

"Well, Tommy needs a roommate." Tommy was Cam's boyfriend of three years who lived above the tattoo parlor next door.

"Really? How much is rent?" Alice asked.

"Pretty cheap. Tommy doesn't have a job and still manages to pay it every month. If your boy can stand a little mess and a lazy bones roommate, it's his." Cam and Alice both looked at Hatter who shrugged.

"Sure. I can't really afford to be picky, can I?" He said genially, smiling at Alice.

"Perfect," Alice smiled. "Thanks, Cam!"

"Sure thing. I'll talk to Tommy about it tonight but I know it won't be a problem. I'll call you later, Al." Cam went back to the cash register as another customer came in.

"Thank goodness for Cam," Alice exclaimed. "Now we don't have to dodge my mom!"

"Well I don't… but if I were you I'd stop taking those painkillers so she doesn't poison you with whatever she cooks next," He said with a serious face. Alice just smiled and nodded. She felt so relieved that he now had a place to live. Now she had to figure out how to get in contact with Charlie and get Hatter some real identification, his fake ID wouldn't get him a job. The Prague was across town in a nicer area so the apartment was likely not cockroach infested, which was a plus. It wasn't her first choice to have him life so far away, but there was the subway and she was sure she'd never have the opportunity to miss him.

* * *

**A/N:** **Hooray! Read on, my darlings...**


	4. Second Hand

**Hatter plus thrift store equals fashion. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Cam says that Tommy has to clean out the other bedroom but you should be able to move in next week," Alice flipped her phone closed and pocketed it. "He has a futon in there now which you can use, but that's about it. We can probably find you a dresser and a desk at Goodwill if you really want them."

"Does it have a closet?" He asked.

"I don't think so…"

"Well that could be a little problem… does that place have coat racks?"

"Goodwill? Probably."

"If we could find, I dunno… 6 or 7 coat racks I shouldn't need a dresser." He said logically and Alice laughed.

"You'd rather have 6 or 7 coat racks than 1 dresser?"

"Yeah. You can see everything you own at once and it doesn't wrinkle." To Hatter, this was perfectly simple and reasonable. Alice had to admit that it was somewhat practical, though unconventional.

"Ok, well… Mom asked me to stop teaching Judo lessons for a while so I have a lot of time… If I can find an ATM after lunch, we can go to Goodwill today." Alice suggested but Hatter shook his head.

"I don't want you to have to buy things for me, Alice," Hatter insisted. He felt guilty as had Alice paid yet another lunch bill.

"I don't have to, I want to," She said, taking his arm. She had just introduced him to the gourmet offerings at McDonalds, which he had thoroughly enjoyed, declaring the Big Mac better than Jabberwock eggs, his favorite Wonderland food. "Consider it payment for saving my life so many times."

"Ok, but only until I get a job… once I have money, you will never pay for anything ever again, do you understand?" He looked her squarely in the eye and Alice smiled.

"If only you could teach classes on chivalry…"

"I don't know what you mean," He said, holding the door for her on their way out of McDonalds. Alice just let it go; He didn't think he was doing anything special and he wanted to take care of her, so let him.

* * *

You would've thought Hatter had discovered buried treasure by his reaction to Goodwill. After practically pulling Alice's arm off making a beeline for the leather jackets, he clapped his hands in delight and dove headfirst into the sale racks. He found eight silk shirts in his size, three hats, and two coat racks for fewer than ten dollars, not to mention three tea sets, all with missing pieces, for twelve dollars total. Alice's money didn't make sense to him, but when she declared him to be a cheap date, he decided that $12 was probably equivalent to half a bottle of 'Disinterest'.

"I had to trade two bottles of 'Satisfaction' just to get my leather jacket in Wonderland," Hatter exclaimed once they were on the subway. "And this store had some quality stuff for like… a sixteenth of that! I can't believe it! You must get some good deals there."

"I don't usually buy my clothes there," Alice laughed.

"Wow, really? It's so practical, not to mention I've been looking for a green paisley shirt for ages! Thank you for taking me there." He sat back against the seat, highly pleased with Alice and his purchases. They were getting strange looks from the other passengers; people didn't normally carry two large coat racks on the subway.

"You're welcome," She smiled. "You're easy to please."

"You're brilliant," He kissed her cheek with a grin. "Well, here's our stop!" Hatter stood up and waited for the other people to file out but got to the door before he realized Alice wasn't following him. "Isn't this…?"

"Nope," Alice laughed as he looked between her and the closing doors for a second.

"Huh… Well it looks awfully familiar…"

"We get off at the stop with the yellow benches."

"Right… right." He sat down again, trying not to look embarrassed. "I guess I'm a little turned around."

"Hatter. It's your second day here. It took me three weeks to figure out the subways once I was old enough to ride them by myself. Don't worry about it." She linked her arm through his and smiled. He was wearing the hat that she met him in (a straw drifter that had seen its fair share of Wonderland), a white shirt with a wide collar, a brown vest, a loosely tied light brown paisley ascot, brown corduroys, and dark brown boots. He actually looked quite stylish, though he noticeably stood out. Alice liked the way he dressed but thought that perhaps she ought to encourage more mainstream clothing for when he met the rest of her family. The idea of introducing him to her grandparents and aunts and uncles was delightful, she smiled just thinking about it. They'd never met any of her previous boyfriends; she'd never liked any of them enough to introduce them to the family. Hatter was a different story and she was proud to call him her… well, to call him hers, anyway.

"Would you mind going back to my place for awhile?" Alice asked when they got off the subway. "I want to ask mom if she'll let you sleep on the couch until you can move in with Tommy."

"Sure," He agreed. It was a feat getting the coat racks up the tiny stairs that led to Alice's apartment but somehow, Hatter did it. He refused to let Alice carry anything, which resulted in several scratches on the walls of the stairwell and a few dented ceiling tiles.

"Mom? Are you home?" Alice called but nobody answered. She directed Hatter to set his things down out of the way of the door. "Huh, I guess she's not home. Do you want some tea?"

"The real question is, when do I NOT want tea," Hatter smiled, following her into the kitchen.

"Good point," Alice laughed. She pulled out her favorite teapot from the cupboard, one her father had purchased at a garage sale when she was nine (the matching cup lived on her desk, the china Hatter had so admired the night before).

"That is a lovely teapot," Hatter approved with a nod. Alice smiled, filling it with water and setting it on the stove. Hatter sat in one of the chairs at the kitchen and motioned for Alice to sit on his lap while they waited for the water to boil. She put her arms around his neck and he removed his hat, setting it on the table.

"My dad bought that teapot," She smiled.

"He has good taste."

"Well, he HAD good taste," Alice said sadly, looking away. Hatter rubbed her arm gently.

"Hey, he chose to have you with Carol… and you're still amazing, so as far as I can see, he STILL has good taste. 'Cause his taste is still good, see?" He kissed her sweetly.

"I guess you're right," She smiled.

"Alice… I'm really sorry that I made you leave him in the Casino… if I could've helped you save him, I would have." Hatter looked ashamed, guilty, but Alice just hugged him tightly.

"I know you would've."

"You miss him don't you," Hatter asked gently.

"Yeah… but I've had almost eleven years of missing him. I've already spent eleven years wondering why he didn't come home… I guess the hardest part for me now is… knowing that he'll miss the most important moments in my life… walking me down the aisle, my children's births… everything." Alice cleared her throat slightly, trying not to get emotional about it. She thought she'd cried enough about her father for a lifetime.

"Well… he was there when you were born, right?" Hatter asked and Alice nodded, laughing slightly.

"Yeah."

"Seems to me that was the most important day of your life."

Alice felt her eyes welling. She felt ridiculous crying about this again, but Hatter was being too darn wonderful about it. The teapot whistled and she stood up, wiping her eyes as discreetly as possible. She tried to pour the tea into the cups but her hand was shaking too bad and Hatter gently took it out of her hand and replaced it on the stove. He turned her around gently and pulled her into his arms. She made a rather large wet spot on his shirt but he didn't mind a bit. Hatter just let her cry.

A long time after their tea had gone cold and Hatter had cleaned out the teapot and cups so Alice could relax, Carol finally walked in the door. It was close to six o'clock and they would have to vacate the premises quickly or be dragged into another home cooked dinner. Alice was standing on the balcony while Hatter sat at a small table; they hadn't said anything to each other for a while and Carol was the first to break the silence.

"Alice, honey? Where are you?"

"On the balcony," Alice called brokenly, as if she hadn't spoken all day. Carol joined them, smiling brightly upon discovering that Hatter was present.

"Oh hello, David," She oozed delight and Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Hi," Hatter waved slightly, hoping that he could get Alice out the door before Carol convinced them to stay for dinner.

"Have you two had a good day?"

Alice looked at Hatter, who caught her look and nodded.

"Yes we have," He answered, receiving a slight smile of approval from Alice.

"Hey, Mom, would it be ok if David slept on our couch for a few days? He's moving into a new apartment next week and doesn't have anywhere to stay until then." Alice asked, sitting down at the table across from Hatter.

"Of course, though I don't see any reason for him to sleep on the couch after spending the night last night," Carol said logically. "I'm under no illusion that you two shouldn't sleep in the same bed."

Alice did everything in her power not to turn red, faint, or cry. So Carol had known that he had slept over… what could have tipped her off? His black fedora hanging on her bedpost? The banging of the window opening and shutting as she rushed to hide him? Or was it the tight-lipped greeting when he showed up at the door in the morning? Alice knew that she was in it, big time.

Hatter, on the other hand, felt incredibly guilty and was sure that Carol would rip Alice a new one the second he was out of hearing distance. He took her hand under the table discreetly and squeezed it; whether he was trying to comfort her or himself, he wasn't entirely sure.

"Don't you two have dinner reservations?" Carol asked the blank-faced couple as they both tried to regain composure.

"Right…" Hatter breathed, looking at Alice. "We had better leave now or we'll be late."

"Good idea," Alice agreed, standing quickly and pulling him up with her.

"Where are you eating?" Carol smiled, following them back through the kitchen.

"Gordon's," Alice answered, thinking of the first plausible place. Not too expensive but still date-worthy, a little fancier. "I need to change really quick."

"Ok," Hatter said, dreading being alone with Carol and shooting Alice a look that said so. Alice squeezed his hand in apology and practically ran to her room, shutting the door a little harder than necessary. Carol sat on the couch expectantly, while Hatter stood in the middle of the room with his hands in his pockets.

"You must be trying to squeeze in a lot of time with Alice," She speculated after a moment.

"Hmmm? Oh, yes… yes I am," He answered awkwardly.

"Probably a good idea since she'll be pretty far away once we move."

"I'm sorry," Hatter shook his head. "I missed that… did you say once 'we move'?"

"Alice doesn't know yet, it's a surprise. I found an adorable gingerbread in North Carolina on one of my business trips for the same rent as this apartment, if you can believe it. It needs a little work but it's redeemable and Alice has always wanted to live closer to her grandparents. You can come visit as often as you like, of course!"

Hatter wasn't sure if he should be angry or just shocked; He didn't leave Wonderland just for kicks, he left to be with Alice… for good. He hadn't told her this yet, he'd only been in her world a few days, but she was the only girl for him. He knew that he wanted to be with her since she insisted that he come with her and Jack to meet Caterpillar, and he wasn't about to lose her. He had to do something quick.

"Ready?" Alice asked; Hatter hadn't noticed her come out of her room.

"Oh… yeah," He smiled, taking her in. "You look nice." She was wearing a purple sleeveless dress that fell just above her knees and her favorite brown boots (the ones she'd worn in Wonderland) and a ponytail. She was beautiful; he had always thought so.

"Thanks," Alice blushed, lacing her fingers in his. Carol mentioned nothing to Alice about the surprise move, just bid them good evening.

"I got an idea while I was changing," Alice announced in the elevator. "We could get sandwiches at the vendor down the street and have a picnic in Central Park. What do you think?"

"Hmm?" Hatter asked, distracted. He was running through ideas in his head to make sure that Alice didn't have to move and had stopped listening.

"Sandwiches? Central Park?" Alice laughed. "A little preoccupied?"

"Sorry," He chuckled. "That sounds great. I'm game if you are."

* * *

"What's up with you?" Alice shook Hatter back to reality for the third time during dinner alone and he sighed. He couldn't keep this to himself anymore.

"Look, Alice… I… I was hoping…" He cleared his throat and looked down at his hands. Alice sidled up to him and laid her head on his shoulder playfully.

"What were you hoping?"

Hatter smiled down at her and sighed again, this time quite heavily.

"I was… really 'hoping' isn't the right word. I was wondering… if you would maybe want… ahem."

"Yes?" Alice kissed his cheek sweetly.

"Would you maybe want… to move in… with – with me?" He didn't dare look at her just in case she said 'no.'

"What, with you and Tommy?" She teased, nudging his shoulder.

"No… I mean get an apartment. You and me. Together. Without Tommy or… Carol." Hatter looked up at her finally, taking stock of her expression. He saw her expression change to surprise and reserve.

"Look, Alice… I don't know how to say this to you without making it sound… scary, but I came to your world to be with you… forever. Right now the way things are, I'll be miles away and have to hop on a subway just to wish you good morning, and that's just until Carol decides to move. If you move with Carol to that Carolina place then there's no point in me being here because I can't be with you, and it wouldn't make sense to move there to be with you when we could just be here together… and someday I don't want to just live with you I want to marry you and then we'd have to live together anyway because that's what married people do – "

"Hatter – "

"And I'm sorry but 'boyfriend' or 'friend' or 'boy' just doesn't cut it for me. I want to be the last guy in your life ever and I want to meet your family and if that means visiting Carol in Carolina that's ok but I don't want to have to sneak in your window just to sleep in the same bed with you, I mean let's face it Alice, you're very very beautiful and sometime I'd like to do more than sleep but I can't do that if you move – "

"Hatter – "

"And I don't even know how I'm gonna get any kind of ID or anything I can't provide for you or do anything for you and it kills me but I'm in love with you, Alice – "

"Hatter! Stop. Talking." Alice took his face in her hands and held it close to her own. "You have to slow down. I have no idea what you're talking about. Start from the beginning."

"Carol told me when you were in your room that… ok, this is supposed to be a surprise, just FYI… she told me that she found a 'ginger-land' in Carolina something and that you guys are going to move… So I want you to move in with me, not move away with her." Hatter looked sheepish.

"She WHAT?! Why wouldn't she tell me about this sooner?"

"I don't know… she didn't say."

"How can she do this without even asking me?" Alice was furious.

"Alice, I don't know… will you find an apartment with me instead of moving with her?" Hatter grabbed her hands.

"I'm sorry… I just can't believe her! She's been fine with you 100% because she thinks you'll be yesterday's news once she can move me away. Not once has she asked me what I want. God," She fumed.

"What do you want, Alice?" Hatter asked gently, trying not to be impatient himself.

"I want… I want to stay in New York," Alice reassured him.

"So you'll move in with me…" He prepped.

"I…" She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. The only thing she read there was adoration and love, but it was reassurance enough for now. "Yes. I'll move in with you."

Hatter jumped up and swung her around happily, kissing her soundly once her feet were back on the ground. Alice smiled against his lips, playing with the hair at his nape.

"I'll call Cam later, tell her you've changed your mind." Alice hugged him tightly. She was feeling a little overwhelmed; she had been afraid to commit to anything with any of her previous boyfriends in the past. But Hatter was different. He was selfless and had proved he wasn't going to leave her when they were in Wonderland. She could trust him.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it!**


	5. Simply Mad

**A bit of angst ahead, be prepared dear reader! ...and welcome back :)**

* * *

No matter how hard he tried, Hatter couldn't sleep. He was worried about Alice. After a week in her world, he was still entirely dependant on her. He wanted to be able to pay for things and take care of her, not the other way around and he could've done that in Wonderland. Not that he wanted to go back, Wonderland was in turmoil after the fall of the Queen and Jack Heart would be even more of a meddlesome dirt bag if Hatter took Alice back. Still: he had a purpose here and he wouldn't give up on it, even if that meant finding a way back to Wonderland in order to get some proper ID.

"Hatter?" Alice called softly.

"Out here, love," He replied, sticking his head back in the window of her bedroom. He was standing on the fire escape thinking.

"Is everything alright?" She asked sleepily, sitting up. Hatter smiled and climbed back in, shutting the window gently behind him.

"Everything's fine," He sat on the edge of the bed next to her.

"I turned over and you weren't there, I thought maybe you left."

"Why would I leave you, sweetheart?" He asked with a chuckle. Alice was exhausted and it showed her vulnerabilities much clearer. She was afraid he was going to disappear.

"I don't know…" Alice lightly traced his jaw with her fingertips.

"I need to shave," Hatter mused. "It's been a few days."

"I like you scruffy," she giggled.

"Really? You're the first woman who's ever liked it."

"How many have there been besides me?" Alice asked sternly, amusement flashing in her eyes. Hatter kicked himself internally and scrambled for an acceptable answer. He'd had plenty of girlfriends but ones worth mentioning?

"Three. There was Marie Parsons, when I was in primary school. She was a pill… pretty, but a pill. Liked to throw sand at me on the playground," He rolled his eyes dramatically and Alice laughed. "Then… Hannah Gregory, my last year of secondary. Blonde, blue eyed… dangerous. I'm pretty sure she's got a room with a view in the Hospital of Dreams, she was kind of a tea head."

"Hatter and Hannah…" Alice said with a grimace.

"Oh yeah. You can imagine the nicknames we got."

"Who was the last girl?"

"Diana Liston. Gorgeous, long red hair, Resistance fighter."

"What happened to her?" Alice asked, unsure if she really wanted to know.

"She died," He said softly. "A few years after we broke up during the second inquisition. We remained friends and she was one of my runners until the White Rabbit was appointed."

"How long ago was that?" Alice asked, playing with his hand gently.

"Uh… five years ago I think?"

"And there's been nobody else?"

"Not until you," Hatter smiled, kissing her forehead.

"Really? Nobody even interested?"

"Well, sure, but I wasn't really interested in them."

"Why not?"

"You sure have a lot of questions," He laughed and Alice blushed.

"Why weren't you interested in them?" Alice asked again bashfully.

"I just wasn't interested," He said and she gave him a look. "What, you want a definitive answer?" Alice nodded, biting her lip.

"Ok… I think I was waiting for you, Alice Hamilton. I wasn't interested in girls before you because they weren't you." He smiled when she blushed again.

"Well if that's not the cheesiest thing I've ever heard – "

"Yeah, but you bought it didn't you?" Hatter chuckled, tickling her sides.

"No fair!" She squeaked, fighting to get away from him.

"If I stop tickling you will you stop asking so many irrelevant questions?"

"Ok!" Alice exclaimed and he relented, rolling over her to his side of the bed. "I've been thinking about telling my mom about us tomorrow."

"About the apartment?"

"Mmmhmm." Alice had found a small one-bedroom apartment that was pretty reasonably priced in the same neighborhood as The Prague. Cam was willing to hire Hatter without paperwork if they ended up making the move, a surprise Alice was saving for a housewarming present. Even if he didn't end up working for Cam, Alice could handle the rent herself from her savings until he found a job.

"Maybe she'll tell you she wants to move to that place." Hatter had gone from calling it 'Carolina' to 'Carol-town' to 'that place'. If Alice didn't have to move there, the name didn't matter.

"Yeah, and maybe Charlie is really a robot."

"Or maybe Carol is really a robot," Hatter suggested, receiving a playful slap on the wrist from Alice.

"I miss Charlie," She admitted.

"I miss Jack," Hatter sighed, chuckling when Alice sat up and straddled him.

"Oh you think you're really funny, don't you?" Alice smiled deviously.

"Basically," He grinned, putting his hands on her hips. Alice leaned down and kissed him deeply.

"I'm really happy that you're here." She sighed happily, snuggling up against his chest. "You make me so happy."

Hatter rubbed her back until she was asleep. He loved her so much. Though she had yet to really put into words how she felt about him, it was reassuring when she told him he made her happy. He knew he was doing something right, at least.

Carol's face was absolutely blank. There was no indication of what she was thinking whatsoever as she stood, took Hatter and Alice's teacups to the kitchen, and ran water in them.

"She's mad," Alice whispered to him with a sigh.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Scared me to death as a kid because I never knew if she was going to explode or just give me the silent treatment." Alice ran her fingers through her hair and sat back against the couch with a sigh.

"Maybe she really is a robot," Hatter said jokingly and Alice gave him a look. "What?"

"Not helping… she's hardly going to condone me moving in with you, especially if she hears you."

"Sorry," He rolled his eyes over the fact that Carol was so controlling, but Alice caught him and huffed.

"Let's talk outside," She stood up and went to the front door, opening it and gesturing for him to go out ahead of her. Hatter got up and followed silently, stepping out into the hallway. Once the door was closed behind them, Alice crossed her arms and gave him a look. "What is your problem with my mother?"

"No problem, I just think she's way too controlling," He said simply, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"She's just looking out for me, Hatter."

"And trying to control you. You told me yourself that she is a control freak."

"Yeah, she is, but it's for my own good! She's been that way my whole life!"

"Then you of all people should know how annoying it is!"

"Oh, so my mother is annoying?" Alice put her hands on her hips and Hatter scratched his head.

"That's not what I meant, I just meant that someone else trying to control your life is annoying…"

"Hatter. My mother is very important to me and I need some kind of approval from her!" Alice protested.

"Why, Alice? Why does it matter what she thinks?" Hatter was trying not to be angry.

"Because she's the only parent I have left! I don't want to let her down."

"You won't let her down, Alice. Sooner or later she has to let you go, she can't expect you to live at home the rest of your life!"

"She just wants to make me happy," Alice said. "And she thinks moving will make me happy."

"Right, she THINKS that, but she's never actually asked you what makes you happy!" Hatter took off his hat and rubbed his face, frustrated.

"And how do you know what makes me happy?" Alice asked and Hatter felt like she'd slapped him. Last night she had told him the HE made her happy.

"I'm going to let you think about what you just asked me," Hatter said quietly, turning for the stairs. He waited for Alice to stop him but she said nothing so he descended the steps. Alice just stared at his retreating back, stunned.

Alice thought through everything she had just said, trying to think of what she could've said to piss him off. Then it hit her. She felt like a huge jerk.

"Hatter!" Alice called, running down the steps after him. When she reached the small lobby, he was nowhere to be found. He wasn't outside the doors either. Where could he have gone? The YMCA perhaps, though he'd retrieved his things a few days prior… there were a million places he could be, it was a huge city after all but he didn't know it very well and it was night-time. Alice suddenly became very worried that he would get himself mugged or worse and felt light-headed, grabbing the brick for balance. He clearly wasn't coming back right away… she wouldn't blame him if he never came back.

Alice climbed the stairs again slowly, feeling very sick. She may have single-handedly ruined her relationship with Hatter. This always happened to her, she always found a way to mess things up with guys. Only, Hatter wasn't just any other guy, he was a lot to lose.

"Where's David?" Carol asked softly as Alice came in the front door.

"I don't know," Alice replied, not making eye contact. If anyone deserved to be the brunt of her anger, it was her mother, and all she needed was to blow up at two people she cared about in the same night.

"Did you have a fight?"

"…Yeah. I'm so stupid…" Alice breathed, feeling hot tears well up in her eyes.

"Oh honey, you're not stupid," Carol cooed, trying to put her arm around Alice, but she dodged it.

"Don't. Not helping." A headache was building in Alice's temple.

"Well maybe it's for the best that we're moving – "

"WE'RE not moving, Mom," Alice wheeled on Carol, wits entirely at an end. "You are moving. I am staying in New York."

"But there's no point if David doesn't come back – "

"Whether or not he comes back, I am going to stay in New York. My friends are here, my life is here, and I don't want to leave. I'm 21 in two months, and I'm an adult. You can't force me to move to YOUR perfect house." Alice booked it towards the kitchen for a glass of water and Carol followed. "Oh and telling him that we're moving before you told me is real adult, Mom."

"I was wondering how you knew," Carol said quietly.

"Did you really think he wouldn't ask me about it? I mean, we're serious about each other Mom… at least I thought we were…" Alice trailed off, pressing her lips together and begging her tears not to fall.

"How serious can you be if he is going to leave you like that?"

"MOTHER. PEOPLE FIGHT. IT'S WHAT THEY DO. I… I'm in love with him. I lost my temper and said something I didn't mean and he left me to think about it. It is what it is." Alice headed for her room, praying to God that Carol would back off before her tears finally broke through.

"Alice, I'm just asking you to think about it before you make a hasty decision. Men are not disposable – "

"Enough." Alice seethed, back still turned. "Goodnight, Carol." She never called her mother Carol unless she was done with the conversation, a cue Carol took quickly.

"Goodnight."

Alice slammed her door hard. If Hatter didn't come back… she couldn't think about it. The waterworks began and she slumped down at the end of her bed, head between her knees.

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you think! sorry for the downer, read on...**


	6. Something of Note

**Smut, ahoy! It's that time, my friends. Welcome.**

* * *

The black fedora still smelled like his cologne. Alice had it sitting on her stomach as she lay in bed. Three days had passed and Hatter still hadn't come back. For once in Alice's life, Carol gave her a wide berth and allowed her to wander aimlessly around the apartment undisturbed. Alice had the cracks in her ceiling memorized, a constellation of damages that emphasized the age of the building and kept her distracted for hours every day. At least she had something of his, something that really smelled like him to keep her grounded. There were two large coat racks and two bags of clothes from Goodwill sitting in the entry still, but they technically belonged to her, she had purchased them.

All he had said was 'I'm going to let you think about what you just asked me.' And then he was gone. He didn't say he was never coming back, but he didn't say he would come back either. He just left her alone to think about how much she had insulted him.

Around ten o'clock pm the fourth day Hatter had been gone, a brown envelope slid under Alice's bedroom door. She was asleep but extremely jumpy and awoke with a start. She looked around, confused; Alice couldn't see the envelope from her bed but she knew that something had to have made the noise so she got out of bed slowly. Padding towards her door, she stepped on the envelope and practically had a heart attack. Picking it up warily, Alice walked to her desk and flicked on the lamp beside Hatter's favorite cup.

'This came for you,' Carol's neat scroll told her on a small sticky note. Whatever her mother had slid her must be important, the packet was stuffed full and bulging. In fact, she wondered how Carol had managed to fit it under the door.

The envelope had no label or writing on it, just closed with a little red string that wrapped around a metal brad. Alice carefully unwound the string and pulled back the paper flap, emptying the contents of the envelope on the desktop. Her jaw dropped.

In front of Alice lay dozens of papers detailing then man she new as David Hatter: birth certificate, report cards, secondary school diploma, letters of recommendation, health records, work applications, a rental agreement for an apartment, and tons of other papers for things Alice didn't recognize. She shuffled through all the papers, finding a legal British driver's license with Hatter's photo and information. It was everything Hatter needed to get a job, rent an apartment… get married someday. For every question or problem he could come across, it seemed like there was a paper to take care of it. There was even a city bus pass and a credit card.

At the bottom of the stack there was a piece of yellow paper, seemingly ripped from a legal pad like her father used to write on. It read thus:

_Jellybean,  
If you ever read this, you have to know that I never wanted to leave you. I love you very much. Please thank Mr. David Hatter for the delivery of this letter if it ever reaches you.  
Dad_

The note was dated just a day after her father's disappearance. Alice turned the paper over and something was scrawled on the other side, almost illegible.

_I love you.  
H_

The paper fluttered out of Alice's hand to the floor. Her father had met Hatter before, when he was first brought to Wonderland and had had enough sense to write her a note, not to mention leave it with a man who, odds are, Alice would never meet. How could her father have possibly known she would come to Wonderland? For that matter, how could he have trusted that she would meet Hatter? After all, Wonderland was a big place and she could've been there for years without meeting him… but it had reached her. And Mr. David Hatter had to have delivered it.

The doorbell rang once, scaring Alice out of her wits. She threw her bedroom door open with a bang and sprinted down the hall to the living room, frantic. Skidding to a stop, Alice flung open the front door.

There was nobody there.

Alice left the door to the apartment open, running down the hallway to see if somebody had gone down the stairs. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, the lobby was empty. Alice rode the elevator up, puzzled deeply. When she reached the apartment's door standing agape, she noticed a little paper tucked under the doormat. She opened it cautiously.

_A –  
I think you're home but you must be asleep. Don't leave, I'll come back in an hour.  
H_

Alice sat down on the floor against the wall in the hallway, paying no mind to the front door, which remained ajar. If he was coming back, she would be there, ready for him.

* * *

"Alice," a smooth voice echoed in her head, somewhere far away. "Sweetheart…" warm skin brushed her cheek gently. She was exhausted and nowhere near consciousness as the being lifted her fireman style. Her head touched her pillow gently and she was tucked into her bed. Alice would later kick herself for not waking up, but for now, she slept.

Pleasant dreams swam through Alice's head as she slept peacefully. Hatter was there with her in every one of them with his arm around her, holding her hand, playing with her hair. The dreams weren't much more then slices of life; nothing much happened beyond a peaceful existence with Hatter.

When Alice woke up, Hatter was nowhere to be found. She wasn't sure if he'd ever been there at all, dreams had deceived her before, but that didn't stop her from searching the entire apartment twice over just to make sure. It was about ten o'clock in the morning; she had been asleep over twelve hours. On the counter in the kitchen, there was a note from her mother and a $20 bill. The note told her that Carol had been called away on a business trip for a few days in Milwaukee but that she would be back as soon as she could. Good riddance, Alice thought. The more time away from Carol, the better.

Alice poured herself a bowl of cereal but never got to the fridge to take out the milk. By the time the frosted flakes were in the bowl, she wasn't hungry anymore. Hatter HAD to have been there, how else would she have gotten to bed? Alice huffed, dumping the cereal unceremoniously back into the box and bringing the bowl back to rest on the counter with a clatter. Rubbing her eyes in frustration, Alice leaned against the counter on her elbows and tried to breathe.

Four days. Hatter had been gone four days. If she ever saw him again, she wasn't sure if 'I'm sorry' would cut it. Turning to go bury herself in her sheets once more, Alice ran smack into Hatter.

"Oh my god," Alice immediately threw her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. Even with her eyes closed, they burned with tears of relief. With no words, Hatter lifted her up so she was sitting on the counter and she buried her face in his neck. "I'm so sorry," She whispered almost inaudibly, trying to speak through her tears.

"I got papers," He said simply, rubbing her back protectively.

"I saw that," She laugh/sobbed, sitting back to look at him. "How in the world-"

"Wonderland."

"You found a way back?" She asked, brushing his jaw lightly with the pad of her thumb.

"Yeah. The only way I could make things right was if I got my papers, pure and simple. So I rather resourcefully found a way back to Wonderland." Hatter wiped a tear-trail off her cheek with a handkerchief pulled from his back pocket.

"But you didn't do anything wrong, I was the one-"

"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm sorry I was gone so long, it took awhile to locate Caterpillar."

"It's ok," Alice shrugged lightly, managing a light smile in spite of the continuous waterworks. "How'd you manage to find a way through the Looking Glass?"

"That's a subject for later, I'd rather not think about it," Hatter shivered involuntarily. "I hope that Caterpillar covered everything, I never want to go back to Wonderland again." Hatter stood between her knees, holding onto her hands tightly. "I love you, Alice, I hope you know that."

"Oh," She breathed, touching her fingers lightly to his lips. "I love you so much, you really are what makes me happy." Alice kissed him again, as if she were afraid he was going to disappear into thin air. Hatter threaded his fingers in her hair and cradled her head, pressing her lips to his tightly. He was startlingly cautious with his hands, not wishing to hurt her. He still didn't know his own strength sometimes, something made clear to him by Dodo after he'd punched the sour grape in the arm and broke his shoulder.

Alice latched her legs around his waist, tongue begging entrance to Hatter's all-too-willing mouth. Hatter deepened the kiss, fingers deftly playing with the waistband of her sleep shorts. Alice moaned softly when one of his hands found its way under her shirt, one of his from Goodwill. Alice didn't care that they were in the middle of the kitchen; she wanted him in every sense, no matter what it took. Even if that meant giving the pots and pans a little show. The feel of his strong hand against her tender skin was like fire as he cupped her bare breast. She gasped when his thumb discovered her nipple, arching into his hand.

"Hatter-" She breathed in between heated kisses.

"Hmm," He answered, attentions never faltering.

"I need you," She groaned as he kissed behind her ear, blowing on the wet spot. Without another word, Hatter scooped her up, carrying her to her bedroom and kicking the door shut. Alice took off his hat and tossed it over her bedpost, where it belonged.

"What about your mum?"

"Out of town," Alice responded, with a gasp as Hatter dropped her onto the bed and pinned her hands above her head.

"I don't have any-"

"On the pill," She assured him.

"Is this what you want?" He asked gently, grazing her lips ever so slightly with his own. Alice inclined her head up to catch his lips before he could pull away.

"Yes," She replied simply.

"If you want me to stop, just say so."

"Don't you dare," Alice panted.

Hatter tugged at the waistband of her shorts, placing a kiss just below her belly button. Slowly, he pulled them down her lean legs, fingertips trailing down her legs as if she were something entirely new to him.

Alice watched him as he explored her body gently, slowly helping her out of her shorts. One at a time, Hatter liberated the buttons at the front of her shirt, placing light kisses on her skin above where each button had closed. Alice had no bra to bother with, something she thanked God silently for as Hatter flicked his tongue against one of her nipples. He took his time, paying each of her breasts special attention and leaving a small hickey above her heart. Alice thought she might go crazy, grabbing his shirt and pulling him back to her lips. Her hands found his waistband and she yanked his shirt un-tucked. Hatter managed to shuck his shirt off without leaving her lips, tossing it next to her shorts on the floor.

She tugged at his belt buckle and Hatter grabbed her hand, sitting up to unbuckle his belt and Alice rid herself of her own shirt, taking in his muscular chest. She knew he was built, she could tell whenever he hugged her, but she had no idea HOW built he really was. She looked at him from under her eyelashes as he stripped off his pants and boots, never breaking eye contact with him.

"Alice Hamilton, stop looking at me like that," He teased with a grin, covering her body with his and kissing her soundly. Alice smiled against his lips, hands roaming his chest and tugging on the waistband of his silk boxers.

"These are offensive. Please remove them."

Hatter chuckled, lightly snapping the band of her panties.

"You first."

Alice stood next to the bed and slowly took off her underwear, causing Hatter to suck in sharply.

"You're so beautiful," He breathed, standing up and removing his boxers. Hatter stood inches from Alice, ghosting his hands down her sides. Her hands shadowed his chest as he kissed her tenderly, pulling her body tightly against his.

Hatter eased her back to the bed gently, nudging her knees apart with his own. Settling himself over her, Hatter rested his forehead against hers.

"Don't stop now," Alice whispered, catching his lips fervently and wrapping her arms around his torso.

Pulling one of her legs up around his waist, Hatter positioned himself at her entrance and nudged inside her. Alice broke the kiss with a little gasp, letting her head fall back as he began to move. Rolling her hips to meet his, Alice's nails grazed over his back and she grasped his shoulder tightly. Hatter took his cues from the little noises at the back of her throat, quickening his pace. Alice latched her other leg around his waist, freeing Hatter's hand to find her clit. She moaned into his mouth, and Hatter gripped her hip tightly, thrusting hard into her.

"Let go," he murmured, laving on the soft spot below her ear. Alice felt herself tighten around him and her orgasm wracked through her body. Hatter followed, collapsing over her, face buried in her neck. Alice held him tightly against her, just breathing with him for a moment.

Hatter untangled himself from her, pulling her into his side protectively. Alice sighed happily, wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Wow," He breathed after his heartbeat had returned to a normal tempo.

"Mmmm," Alice smiled, nuzzling his neck.

"Maybe we should fight more often."

"And why is that?" She laughed. Hatter brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.

"Because make-up sex is… divine."

Alice rested her chin on his chest, amused.

"Or… we could just have make-up sex without a fight."

"Hey, there's a thought," He chuckled, kissing her sweetly. "I want to take you to dinner tonight. I've got money now, so your time to pay for things is over."

"Ok," She smiled. "What are we gonna do the rest of the day?"

"Well… I want to show you an apartment I found. Would that be ok?"

"You found an apartment?" She asked, surprised.

"Yeah. It's really nice. Well, I think it's nice. It's one of the Resistance-owned properties so we won't have to pay rent. If you like it, I mean."

"Hatter… that's amazing! I'd love to go look at it!"

"I have the keys with my stuff. If you like it, we can move in anytime." Hatter rubbed her back.

"Wow… I'd be crazy not to like it!" Alice kissed his stubbly chin and laid her head on his chest. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower and then we can go."

"Mind if I join you? To conserve water, of course," He said mischievously and Alice laughed.

"I'm ok with that." She scooted off the bed and retrieved her robe from the hook behind her door. "You coming?"

"Right behind you," He laughed, pulling on his boxers and chasing her out of her room and down the hall to the bathroom. Their shower took quite a while and the toweling-off process nearly cost them another shower.

With no warning whatsoever, someone knocked on the bathroom door and Alice paled, pinned on the floor by Hatter and the towel they were sharing. She motioned for him to be silent.

"Yes?" She called.

"Alice? My flight was delayed and I forgot one of my bags so I just came to pick it up before I have to be back at the airport. Are you ok? It sounded like you fell or something." Carol called clearly through the door.

"Everything's fine, I just dropped my soap," Alice replied, causing Hatter to shake with silent laughter. She tried not to laugh out loud as Hatter shook his head.

"Ok. How much longer do you think you'll be in there? I'd like to use the restroom before I leave again."

"Just a few minutes. I have to finish drying off."

"Alright," Carol's footsteps click-clacked back to another part of the apartment and Alice laughed quietly.

"I'm gonna have to come out soon or she'll start to wonder," She whispered and Hatter nodded.

"Ok, but I'm not climbing out that tiny window," He indicated the window above the bathtub, which was little bigger than his head.

"Just… stand in the shower. The curtain's always closed anyway, she'll never know."

"She knew last time," He protested.

"You are not walking out of this bathroom with me, soaking wet, in just your boxers."

"UGH. Fine. But you do your damndest to make her leave soon." Hatter got off her and climbed into the shower, shutting the curtain dramatically.

"I love you," Alice cooed and Hatter grunted in reply. She laughed, pulling her robe on and wrapping their towel around her hair. She opened the door cautiously, making sure Carol hadn't been listening. "I'm out, Mom!"

"Thank you!" Carol replied and Alice quickly retreated to her room, just in case the bathroom exploded. A few minutes later, Carol's signature knock sounded on her door.

"Are you leaving?" Alice asked, fully dressed.

"Yup. I'm off to Milwaukee until Friday. I take it you and Hatter made up," Carol commented as Alice followed her to the living room. Carol grabbed all of her things and headed for the front door. "Only, tell him he really should breathe through his nose. He sounds like a dog, panting like that. Toodloo!" She blew Alice a kiss and closed the front door, leaving Alice standing there embarrassed, stunned, and slightly amused.

* * *

**A/N: Whew. Hope you enjoyed it! **


	7. Kids Stuff

**No smut, but Hatter gets territorial. :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Alice loved the apartment and told Hatter so as they sat down to dinner. It had everything that she could possibly imagine and more; two small bedrooms (one of which Hatter fully intended to convert into a closet for himself), a master suite, another small bathroom, a large kitchen, a large living room, a nice balcony, and a huge pantry. If it hadn't been owned by the Resistance, they never would've been able to afford it. Alice was shocked by how wonderful the apartment really was.

"Seriously… we don't have to pay rent?" She asked, tucking her napkin in her lap.

"Nope. One of Caterpillar's men pays it every month. The Resistance is actually quite loaded, thanks to contributions from Prince Puke – I mean Jack." Hatter caught himself after a warning glance from Alice as she looked over the menu. "So we don't have to worry about paying for anything."

"That's amazing! Wow. I can't believe our luck."

"It's not luck, Alice, it's resourcefulness."

"You're right," She laughed, leaning across the table and motioning him to lean towards her. She planted a peck on his lips and brushed his cheek. "You're very resourceful."

Hatter grinned. "I was thinking that we could go back to that place to get some furniture."

"What, Goodwill?" Hatter nodded. "Hatter, if you really have as much money as you say, we can buy furniture from the Plaza."

"What's 'the Plaza'?"

"Only the biggest and most beautiful hotel in New York City! Oh God… you'd love it. Especially at Christmas." Alice smiled enthusiastically.

"And we can buy our furniture there?"

"No… I was just kidding. But we can go to a real furniture store, Ethan Allen or something. We at least need a bed, a couch, some chairs, a dining room table, some kind of TV cabinet… a TV, come to think of it…"

"What's wrong with your bed?" Hatter asked innocently.

"It's a little small, Hatter."

"According to who? Pygmies?"

"It's just a full bed. That's almost as bad as a double… or god forbid, a twin."

"Wouldn't you want a full bed? I mean, half a bed would just be pointless, and double? Jeeze, we don't need THAT much room. And who wants two separate beds?" Hatter was extremely concerned with the strange sizing for earth beds.

"No, Hatter, those are what the bed sizes are called. 'Twin' is the smallest, it's only for one person. 'Double' is a little bigger, but still only one person can fit comfortably. 'Full' is what I have, and it's like… one and half people's worth. 'Queen' is ideal for two people, but 'King' is the max."

"Whoa whoa whoa. We are not sleeping in the Queen's bed and I'll kill Jack if you sleep in his. Your Full bed is good enough for me, and that's that." Hatter looked over the menu and Alice just laughed silently.

"Alright. But I want a big couch."

"Of course, who would want a small one? We can move tomorrow if you want to." He suggested, not recognizing anything on the menu, aside from caviar, which he found to be revolting.

"We should probably wait until my mom gets back. Last time we tried to talk to her about it, she didn't even respond. We're still going to have to ease her into it."

"Probably for the best. Do you think she's still gonna move?"

"Hard to say," Alice shrugged, folding the menu. "Hopefully she'll be civil about it at least, whatever she decides. If it's any consolation, I think she likes you," She assured him.

"Really? How can you tell?"

"She hasn't given me any talks about you staying over or anything. I expected an angry voicemail at least, after this morning's fiasco, but nothing! She MUST like you if she hasn't given me any crap about you."

"My mother would definitely like you," Hatter said thoughtfully. The waiter came up, silencing any response Alice had. She was stunned; Hatter had mentioned that he didn't get along with his parents and hadn't spoken to them in years.

"Know what you'd like, Madame?" The French man asked, eyes affixed to Alice's low-cut dress. Hatter cleared his throat protectively.

"I'll have what she's having," Hatter nearly growled. Alice took his hand under the table out of compassion for the waiter, who was about to lose his manhood.

"The shrimp special, please," She answered kindly. Hatter almost squeezed her hand off as the waiter grazed her arm reaching for the menus.

"Anything else this evening?"

"A bottle of champagne, whatever you've got that's best," Hatter ground out, a request that surprised both Alice and the waiter but Hatter shot her a look, encouraging her to agree.

"We're celebrating," Alice explained, though Hatter looked confused. She was glad that he didn't infer that they were celebrating an engagement, because the waiter did. Immediately, Claude, as his name badge indicated, straightened up. He could take a cue.

"Can I see some ID?" He asked Hatter, rather snootily. Hatter giddily whipped out his wallet, something Alice had found in a little shop on their way to dinner, as well as his passport, birth certificate, and social security card. After a once-over of the British driver's license, the waiter nodded in satisfaction, not bothering to ID Alice, whom he assumed must be the same age. The thought occurred to Alice as Hatter was being carded that she had no idea how old he was. Of all the questions she asked, that one she had forgotten. It didn't matter, really, but she was curious. "What label would you prefer? We have two chef's choice."

"You pick," Alice answered, hoping the waiter would back off.

"One is significantly more expensive-"

"That one," Hatter seethed. "Money is no object."

"Would you like it now or with your meal-"

"Now."

"Right away," Claude bowed dramatically, as if making fun of Hatter, and turned quickly on his heel.

"Jeeze… that guy's a piece of work!" Hatter said, not caring if Claude or the rest of the restaurant heard.

"He's not that bad-"

"He was staring down your shirt! He's lucky I didn't tear him limb from limb…"

"I don't think we'll have to worry about him anymore, Hatter," She said gently, moving their clasped hands to rest on top of the pressed table cloth. "This might sound weird… but how old are you?"

"What's weird about that? I haven't told you, as far as I remember."

"I dunno… I just think I should've asked you before now."

"In Wonderland years, I'm 25… but a week in Wonderland is like a day here, right?"

"I think so…" Alice raised an eyebrow, wondering where he was going with this.

"Ok. If a week equals a day, then three hundred sixty five times twenty five, nine thousand one hundred and twenty five days would equal one thousand three hundred three and a half weeks. One week equals one day so that's one thousand three hundred three and a half days your time. One thousand three hundred three and a half divided by three sixty five… three and a half. I'm three and one half years old." Hatter said, quite satisfied with himself. Alice's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You just did ALL that math in your head."

"Oh yeah. Kids' stuff. I was studying to be a mathematician at Uni before I dropped out." Hatter laughed as Alice still looked dumbstruck. "You're catching flies, love."

"Lemme see your driver's license," Alice said once she shook off her shock. Hatter produced it again, setting it in front of her. Sure enough, it indicated that he was around 25 years old. "Wait… if you're three and half, technically… does that mean you'll age slower here?"

"No, according to Caterpillar I should age just the same as you. Even if I am significantly younger than you. You're… how old?" He asked trying to remember if he had read it in her father's file.

"20… I'll be 21 in two months."

"No kidding! We have to celebrate! I hope you have lots of friends because I sure can throw a shindig," He said excitedly, practically bouncing in his seat. "Sheesh, you're an old woman! I'm like… sixteen and a half years younger than you!"

"Oh god… that's- I don't even want to think about that." She shook her head.

"Jeeze, you're like…

"Hatter, in my world that ISN'T something to brag about…"

"What? That my girlfriend's like… ancient by comparison? Huh… that's hilarious. A grown woman dating a baby." He chuckled and Alice rolled her eyes.

"Don't say that to anybody here, I'm serious. People get arrested for that. To anybody we meet, you're 25. That'll be enough of a gap for my friends to tease me about liking older men, not the other way around." Alice laughed as he nodded in agreement.

"How old is Jack here?"

"That doesn't matter," Alice cleared her throat, taking a sip of her water.

"Alice…" Hatter warned.

She mumbled something incoherent and he caught her chin with his finger.

"What was that?"

"30… he's… 30."

"Jack gets to be 30 and I'm three and half?" He exclaimed loudly and Alice grabbed his hand again tightly.

"Will you keep it down? That's just how old he told me he was, I don't know how old he really is," She explained in a hushed voice.

It was Hatter's turn to mumble something but Alice didn't really want to know what he had said.

"Where's our champagne?" He said grouchily and Alice had to stifle a laugh at the face he was making. "I thought I said 'now'."

"You did."

"So it should be here now! I'm going to find our waiter," He stood up and stomped off before she could stop him and Alicecovered her face.

"Oh God…"

When Hatter returned, there was a man with him who was not their waiter. Hatter looked rather smug, Alice observed. He sat and the new man set down a tub of ice with a bottle of champagne in it and two glasses.

"I'm sorry for the wait. Claude will no longer be your server. It has come to my attention that you were unfairly treated and I've taken measures to make sure it doesn't happen again. Enjoy the champagne, on the house." The man, who Alicediscerned to be the manager, nodded respectfully to her and then Hatter, before turning and walking back to the kitchen.

"What did you do?" Alice asked as Hatter poured the champagne. The manager had uncorked it in the kitchen after convincing Hatter he couldn't do it himself or he'd take someone's eye out.

"I asked to see his boss, and that guy showed up. I told him we've been waiting forever and that the waiter was hitting on you and he apologized, dismissing our waiter." He folded his arms in triumph.

"You got him FIRED?"

"No, not fired, jeeze relax. But I have a feeling he'll be washing dishes until he's as old as you are," Hatter said seriously andAlice found that she just couldn't be mad at him.

"Ok… just promise me that next time we go out to dinner, you won't give our waiter a hard time."

"That depends."

"On…?"

"On whether or not he checks you out. Cheers!" He clinked his glass against hers heartily.

"Hatter… I think you may have an anger management issue. Either that or you're the con artist of the century."

"Nonsense. Enjoy the free champagne." He took a deep sip. "Mmhmm. It does taste better when it's free."

"Alice! Sweetheart, wake up!" Hatter brushed her hair away from her face as she thrashed in her sleep. "Alice!" He shook her shoulders firmly and her eyes flew open. Alice didn't respond to him immediately, eyes glazed over with echoes of the dream that had just lost its grip on her. She burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. Hatter pulled her up and tucked her into his lap. Alice held onto him tightly, as if she were afraid he was going to disappear.

"Bad dream?" He asked softly when she had calmed down a little. Alice just nodded slightly, trying to keep herself from crying harder. "It's ok," He smiled, rubbing her arm.

"Y-you left," She whispered brokenly.

"In the dream?" Alice nodded again. "I'm not leaving you, sweetheart."

"I kn-know."

"Hey. Look at me," he held her face in his hands. "I'm not leaving. I don't care if you want me to leave; I'm never ever leaving you again. You'll have to have the suits cart me off to the Hospital of Dreams before I'll leave again!"

Alice laughed in spite of herself and latched her arms around his neck.

"I love you," She murmured softly. Hatter smiled, holding her tight.

"Know something? That first day we met… I never would've told you that we'd end up this way. That I'd end up here."

"What changed that made you end up here?" She asked, sitting back to look at him and wiping her eyes.

"I dunno," He grinned. "I guess you just got under my skin."

"Are you sure you didn't fall in love with me?"

"Not right away… That didn't happen until… well really it didn't happen until we got pizza. That stuff is GOOD."

Alice slapped his arm, laughing.

"Do you wanna talk about the dream?" He asked kindly, wiping a tear streak on her cheek.

"It's not a big deal anymore," Alice looked away but Hatter took her hands.

"Come on, Al."

"Umm… I don't know… I'm afraid I'll dream it again if I talk about it," She wiped her eyes as best as she could, ridding her face of the last of her tears.

"Ok, well… How about I tell you about my dream from earlier and then you can tell me about yours. Would that be ok?" He asked, tucking her hair behind her ears. Alice nodded and he smiled, leaning back against the headboard. She crawled into his lap, lying on his chest. Alice loved the way her head fit against his chest, the weight of his arms on her back, the way his voice resonated in his chest. As Hatter told her about his dream, Alice wasn't totally listening, but having him open his heart to her was a comfort in itself. Hatter was so caring and selfless, something Alice was going to have to get used to. She felt like somehow she owed him something for being so wonderful, but she didn't know what.

Hatter finished telling her about his dream patted her back.

"Wanna tell me about that dream now?" He asked.

"We were in Wonderland again," She began softly.

The next afternoon, Hatter came back to the apartment particularly disgruntled. Alice was cooking lasagna, his new favorite, and humming.

"Did you find a job?" She called when she heard the door open.

"No," He sighed, coming into the kitchen and slumping into a chair. "Did you know you have to have something called a Visa if you're from England?"

Alice dropped her spoon into the jar of marinara and hit her forehead.

"Oh crap, I didn't even think about that," She said apologetically.

"It's ok. I got directions to the immigration office and applied for a fi-… ummm… financier's visa."

"A FIANCE'S Visa?" Alice asked, shocked.

"That's the one."

"Hatter, let me look at it," She sighed, positive that he had no idea what a fiance's visa entailed. Hatter produced the documents and she looked over them. All of a sudden, she paled.

"What?" He asked, standing to read over her shoulder.

"Hatter – this says that you have to get married in three months or the visa is void!"

"I'll just renew it in three months," He said.

"You can't renew it, it says right here," She pointed to a bit of bold text on the last page of the visa.

"What?!" Hatter grabbed the paper out of her hands. "I didn't know that!"

"You should've gotten a work visa," Alice sighed. "It's ok. It's not your fault. We'll just go back tomorrow and get it sorted out." She handed the visa back to him and finished the lasagna. Hatter wondered why they couldn't just get married before the three months was up, but thought better of asking her, at least for the moment.

"What did you do today?" He asked when he thought it was safe.

"Not much. Cleaned mostly. My Mom called, she's coming back tonight." Alice put the lasagna in the oven and sat on the counter.

"Do you need me to do anything?"

"I don't think so. Let's just hope she's in a good mood." Alice pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "I'm gonna tell her that we found a place tonight, hopefully she'll be reasonable this time."

"Maybe it would be better if I wasn't here when you told her… so she doesn't feel obligated to be ok with it… I mean, I hope she is ok with it… but I think she holds back telling you how she really feels because I'm always around."

"You're probably right."

"I'll spend the night at the apartment and we can meet up at the immigration office tomorrow morning when it opens." Hatter stood and lifted her off the counter. "Think you can stand a night without me?"

"It'll be rough, but I think I can handle it," She laughed, hugging him.

"Ten o'clock in front of the immigration office?"

"I'll be there." She smiled. Hatter kissed her sweetly. "Are you sure you don't wanna stay for lasagna? I know how you love it."

"Save me some, I'll eat it tomorrow."

"For breakfast with milk and sugar?" Alice teased and Hatter wrinkled his nose.

"That sounds disgusting. Who does that?"

"Nobody. It was a joke. My Dad used to threaten me with that if I didn't finish my brussel sprouts. Go on, I'll meet you tomorrow."

"Ok. Goodnight, Sweetheart." Hatter kissed her again and left her alone to face her mother.

* * *

**A/N: A bit of a short one. Let me know what you think!**


	8. Two is Better Than One

**Smut ahead! And Carol's a cougar. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Alice? Are you home?" Carol asked, as if the heavy italian smells coming from the kitchen indicated her daughter's absence.

"I'm here," Alice called, slowly returning to reality after spending the last ten minutes staring at the oven door and wondering if she could marry Hatter in three months. Carol entered the kitchen but she was not alone. A tall man whoAlice discerned to be much younger than her mother came in on Carol's heels. Alice had never seen him before.

"Hi honey. This is Jim. Jim, my daughter Alice."

Tall Jim shook Alice's hand, clearly embarrassed that he was being introduced in this manner. Alice suddenly wondered why her mother had brought home a strange man.

"Nice to meet you," Alice spoke, words forming in spite of the questions that swam around her head.

"Pleasure," Jim replied, making Alice fairly certain of two things:

One: Jim likely never spoke much normally, a stark contrast to her loquacious mother.

Two: Unless he too had fallen through the Looking Glass into her world, Jim was British. Bonafide English pure-bred. Two Brits. Alice wasn't sure she liked taking after her mother. Or vice versa.

"Where's David?" Carol asked cheerfully, directing (or rather forcing) Jim to one of the kitchen chairs.

"Our- his apartment."

"Invite him over for dinner! I'm sure he and Jim would love to talk about the 'old country'."

Carol gave Jim a look that made Alice think they were more than pen pals. JIm gave a non-committal grunt to Alice and a salacious look to her mother.

'Jeeze,' Alice thought. 'Hatter doesn't look at me like that and he's the horniest man I know.'

"I'll call over and see if he's hungry," She agreed, knowing full-well that Jim had to disappear or she wouldn't be confronting her mother about moving in with Hatter.

"Alice is moving in with David," Carol explained, perching on the cusp of Alice's personal space. Alice side-stepped quickly, shocked that she was awknowledging a fact she had previously completely ignored. She didn't dare touch this subject with a strange British man lurking around.

Hatter was a strange man, masquerading as a Brit, but he didn't lurk. She felt the pull of him, wishing he were there.

"David's a construction worker-"

"Was, Mom," Alice diverted. "He quit because of my accident, he realized it was too dangerous. He's looking for a new job."

"What sort of job?" Jim asked, Alice's second and final indication that he was alive and not just her mother's... man-cub.

"I'm not quite sure-" Alice paused. They hadn't talked about it. What kind of job was Hatter trying to get? "I don't totally understand the business world."

"He should interview at your company!" Carol announced to Jim, as if she had discovered a cure for a major disease. "OhAlice, David really must come over and meet Jim! He could do so much with Jim's company."

"What do you do, Jim?" Alice asked, as if she were interested. If her mother knew him, he was probably in real estate. If she was dating him, he was probably a major CEO.

"Jim's the CEO of Remax!" Carol announced again and Jim smiled at her oddly. Alice wasn't sure if it was an uncomfortible grimace or a wince, but it certainly wasn't an adoring smile. So Carol annoyed him too. One man-cub point for Jim.

"So that's how you met my Mother," Alice inferred, half-hoping she could keep her mother at bay if she participated in the banter.

"No, no, we met in Milwaukee at a bar!" The Cougar cackled, causing Jim's wince to evolve into something like a painful sneer. "He grabbed a flight back with me which was when I learned that he's from New York too!"

Man-cub point revoked, Jim. He had lead her mother to believe that he was flying back with her because he liked her, not because he lives in New York. If you lead Carol to believe anything, she would infer whatever would be beneficial to her, not the probable truth.

'Something to Talk About' began playing from Alice's pocket as Hatter saved her from any further awkwardness.

"It's David," She explained, making a beeline for her bedroom.

"Hey, Love," She sighed, once her door was closed and locked behind her.

"How'd you know it was me?" his surprised voice asked.

"Well, caller-ID for one," Alice laughed, laying on Hatter's side of her just-right bed. "How do you even handle your phone? I mean how do you know it's me when I call you?"

"You're the only number I have in this thing," he retorted and Alice laughed silently.

"What's up?" She asked, cringing as her mother crowed from the kitchen.

"Nothing really..."

"You're a terrible liar."

"No I'm not! I'm a great liar. Just not to you."

"Should I be flattered that you can't lie to me or insulted that you're disappointed by that?" Alice smiled, knowing full well that he was probably sitting in the bathtub sweating bullets. He did that when he was nervous, something Alice would never really understand. He slept in the bathtub once and Alice had found him only after running water on him in the morning.

Hatter mumbled a non-committal response and hiccoughed slightly.

"I didn't catch that-"

"I think we should get married!" he declaring, racing his nerves and anxiety to tell her what he had been pondering all afternoon. Alice froze.

"Hello?" Hatter asked after a few seconds of silence. He didn't wait for another response, just hung up the phone.

Ten minutes later, Hatter walked into the apartment, unannounced, unexpected, and entirely uncouth. He had clearly been running, as his shirt clung to him a little and his hair stuck around his face. Hatter had learned to sweat with the best of them in this world, the 'only downside to living here with all the oysters,' he confessed to Alice once. Carol came out from the kitchen, only to catch Hatter's coattails flick inside Alice's room.

"Are you ok? Did you faint?" Hatter interrogated Alice, taking her face in his hands and kneeling at her feet. Alice looked at him blankly. "Oh Gods... I broke you. It's my fault! I'll go get Carol-"

"No!" She grabbed his arm, reality taking control again, at least momentarily.

"So you're ok?" He asked softly, sitting next to her on the bed.

"I'm ok," She confirmed and he lay back on the bed, relief and ten blocks catching up with him. Alice hugged her knees. "Did you run all the way here?"

"I got a cramp at 23rd, but I ran most of the way," he admitted.

"You didn't have to run all the way," She smiled gently.

"I thought you had passed out or something. You didn't say anything and I didn't know if Carol was home or not."

"Hatter... if you're going to spring things on me, you're going to have to give me a second to process. Just because I don't say anything for a second doesn't mean I've fainted or something." Alice smiled, laying next to Hatter on her side.

"So..." Hatter stopped, turning over and looking at her. He pushed her hair over her shoulder and brushed her cheek. "What do you think?"

Alice smiled, leaning into his touch. "I think I'm wondering if there's anybody else who's going to ask me that question."

"After a few weeks here... I can sort of discern that you are kidding."

"You're right," She laughed.

"So... Do you want to get married?" Hatter bashfully looked down at her hand playing with his hand. Alice rubbed the back of his hand and linked her fingers with his.

"Do you want to marry me because you have to in three months?" She asked.

"No. I mean, that's what made me think about doing it now, but that's not why... Alice, I'm here forever. No matter what happens between us, I'm not going back to Wonderland. I'm in love with you, I think you know that, and I want to stay with you forever. Why wait until later to get married if we're going to stay together? Unless you don't want to and then I'll go-"

"Hatter." Alice smiled, brushing his cheek. "I think that's very logical. And I think I'd be crazy to say 'No'. I just want to make sure that you don't want this because you feel obligated."

"I feel a little obligated to do something, but it's to take care of you. And I've felt that way since I met you. I don't know what it is about you, but I've always felt compelled to take care of you."

"Alright, you've said 'you' a lot... But are you doing any of this for yourself?"

"I don't think I'm really entitled to be selfish."

Alice kissed him lightly.

"Let's make a deal." She smiled, sitting up. Hatter sat up across from her eagerly.

"Ok. What do you propose?"

"If you agree that you want to marry me now because you love me, not because you have to... I'll make sure that you get whatever you want, whenever you want."

"You mean-"

"If you want to do it in the bathroom of a restaurant, or in our kitchen, or in the locker room at the YMCA..."

Hatter laughed and shook his head.

"Wait... You're telling me that in return for not being selfish, you're agreeing to have sex with me whenever I want it."

"Yup." Alice giggled when he took off his hat and scratched his head.

"Alice... doesn't that sort of come with the territory of marriage?"

"Not necessarily. Some people get married and stop doing it-"

"Nobody I know does that. Besides, I'm not sure I could keep my hands off you if the need was bad enough." Hatter smiled as Alice raised an eyebrow. "We don't need to make any deals. Let's just say that us getting married means that we... want to spend the rest of our lives together, and that we will have sex whenever we feel like it, maybe twice if we fight, and we'll both be selfish to a reasonable degree."

"If that were a deal, it would be the best deal ever made." Alice rubbed his scruffy chin.

"Is it just me or have we danced along this long enough?" He asked with a grin.

"Nope, you're right. David Hatter, will-"

"Huh-uh, my job." Hatter pulled her off the bed and knelt down at her feet. "Alice Hamilton, will you marry me?"

Alice smiled prettily.

"I would love to."

Hatter rested his forehead against her stomach, relieved, as if he thought she wouldn't say 'yes'. Alice laughed, holding his head. He played at her waistband, kissing her bare stomach.

"Remember your earlier offer?" He whispered against her skin. Alice smiled, taking his hat off his head.

"My Mom's home with her new boyfriend."

"You don't look worried and... that didn't sound like a reason NOT to..."

"It's not. I just thought you should know."

Alice grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

"But just in case..." She gestured to her walk-in closet. Hatter grinned mischeviously, opening the door for her. "Why thank you, sir," Alice giggled, grabbing the lapel of his snap-front shirt and ripping it open. As if he had never thought of the merits behind a snap-front shirt, Hatter looked at her, scandalized.

"Oh, I am investing in more of these shirts," He growled, shutting the door behind him. Alice reached past him and locked it, just in case, pinning him to the door. "Your closet door locks?"

"Yes it does. Objections?"

"None at all. Actually, that's pretty ingenious," He breathed as she kissed her way down his chest. Alice unbuckled his jeans and pulled his belt out of the loops with a snap.

Hatter refused to let her have all the fun so he pulled her hips tightly to his, hooking his fingers through her belt loops and kissing her hard. Alice rolled her hips against his and he groaned into her mouth. Hatter whisked her shirt over her head so quickly that their lips barely parted, causing Alice to gasp. Catching her off-guard, Hatter spun her around so her back was to him and kissed below her ear, down her neck.

Sliding one hand over her collar bone, he cupped her breast, deftly unbuttoning her pants with the other. Alice's fingers were tangled in his hair and the only thing keeping her standing.

Hatter slipped one finger under the front clasp of her bra, popping it open.

Alice couldn't take it anymore. He was driving her crazy and there wasn't much she could do about it, save one.

She inclined her head to catch his lips again, turning in his arms and unbuttoning his pants, as he had hers. Without so much as a warning or a naughty look, Alice put her hand down the front of his corduroys and wrapped her hand around him. He moaned against her lips, temporarily paralyzed as Alice literally and figuratively gained the upper hand.

Hatter thought he might lose it completely before things went any further so he grabbed her hands. Then, he got an idea.

Pulling his necktie off, he tied her hands, after a quick glance to make sure she wasn't going to object. The look on her face told him that she not only did she not object, it was welcomed. A hook on the door served as a wonderful place to tie up his fiancé and Hatter took advantage of it, pinning her to the door with his body as he secured her hands above her head.

"Getting creative?" She breathed as he unzipped her pants with his teeth.

"Or something," He grinned, returning to her mouth briefly to kissing her hard, before departing south again. Slowly, he pulled her jeans down her muscular legs, laving his tongue against her skin in between possessive kisses. Once her jeans pooled at her feet, he looped a finger through her lace panties, pulling them down too. Alice stepped out of her pants and Hatter grabbed her hips firmly.

She gasped as he took a wide stance between her feet, preventing her from closing her legs.

"Whatever you do, do not put your knees together," He warned, kneeling in front of her.

"If I do?" Alice ventured half-heartedly, feeling little need to test him when he was so keen on pleasing her.

"I'll stop." Hatter stroked her folds lightly, teasing her as her anticipation became clear. Cupping her rear, he flicked his tongue against her apex and Alice let out a sharp breath. With one finger, Hatter stroked her, nearing her entrance but never entering.

"Hatter…" She gasped and he slowly pushed two digits inside of her. Alice's hips bucked but she kept her feet where he placed them, though strained. Hatter moved his hand with expertise that Alice was glad could only be accounted for by the many times they had experimented. She rolled her hips to meet his hand.

Just when she thought she was going to come, he withdrew his hand and she moaned at the loss. Hatter grinned, unhooking her hands.

"I want to try something new," He smiled, pressing her palm to the bulge in his pants. Alice smiled back, cupping him.

"Anything. I trust you."

Hatter lead her to the small vanity where her mirror rested, hands roaming her skin wantonly.

"I want to watch you," He whispered so softly, Alice almost wasn't sure she really heard him, but she saw his face in the mirror. She rested both hands on the vanity, reading his mind and his eyes.

Quickly stripping off his pants, Hatter never took his eyes off her. He reached between her legs from behind, stroking her again. She was so wet and ready.

Hatter was not careful then, but Alice didn't care. She wanted him; rough, passionate, wild. With one fluid motion, he entered her from behind and Alice almost purred in pleasure. Hatter held onto her hips tightly, a habit that always led to inevitable finger-shaped bruises, though they had never done it this way before. He waited just long enough to move forAlice to get impatient and she shoved against him. Hatter moved with her, thrusting harder every time.

Alice bit her lip hard to keep from crying out as he drove into her wildly. He felt himself losing control and he removed his right hand from her, a precaution that would inevitably save her broken bones. His getting too caught up in the moment wasn't worth injuring her with the strength he still hadn't cornered. Propping himself up against the vanity, Hatter pulled her into him hard, wanting to send her over the edge first.

Alice tilted her hips more, allowing him to go even deeper inside her as his carnal thrusts drove her crazy. Finally, he feltAlice tighten around him and she arched back, letting go completely. Hatter paused, resting his forehead against her shoulder blade. He withdrew from her long enough to lay her on her back, pushing into her again. Alice wrapped her legs around his waist and rolled her hips, pushing just as hard into him as he did to her. She bit slightly below his ear, sending him over the edge as he emptied himself into her with one last powerful thrust. He collapsed over her, burying his face in her neck and breathing in time with her ragged sighs.

Five, ten or so minutes passed, Alice wasn't sure. It was hard to keep track of the number of seconds that he lay on her chest, murmuring sweet things that she was sure he had never said to anyone else.

Hatter withdrew from her finally, though he just shifted slightly.

"That will never get old." He said with a great deal of satisfaction.

She couldn't help herself; Alice laughed silently, running her fingers through his hair and tracing tiny circles on his back. Hatter kissed her collar bone and propped himself up on his elbows so she wasn't bearing his full weight.

"I love you, Alice," He smiled, kissing her lightly.

"I love you too…" She giggled, squeezing her knees together slightly. Alice felt Hatter stiffen again against her abdomen and she rolled her hips teasingly.

"Oh Gods… I'm not sure I can do that again." He said, trying to regain composure.

"What makes you say that?" Alice asked, rolling one of his nipples between her fingers and making a hickey on his neck.

"I've never been able to go twice in a row, you know that."

"There is a first time for everything," She chastised jokingly, rolling them over so she was straddling him. She shifted and wrapped her fingers around him again, massaging him to his full length. After a quick nip under the ear, Alice sheathed him so he was buried deep inside her and Hatter growled.

"This might kill me," He warned dramatically, earning him a tantalizing wiggle from Alice.

"Hatter, I want you to forget about you for a second. Think of me, and how much I want you," She whispered, touching her breasts and clit in illustration of her point. Hatter's mouth went dry as he watched her touch herself and he bucked into her sharply, catching her off guard. "That's more like it," She mewed as they rolled their hips together again and again.

As she rode him, Alice let her head fall back, pleasure consuming her completely. Hatter came first this time and Alicedevoured his moan with her mouth, ever so slightly conscious of her mother's presence in the house. As Alice came, she released his name from her lips lightly, a simple thank you.

"Can we call a time out for now," Hatter suggested once he had regained his senses.

"Yes we can," Alice smiled down at him, kissing him lovingly. She rolled off him and lay against his side for a few minutes, while they both came down to earth.

Alice had just as much fun helping Hatter dress again as she had helping him disrobe, though she was respectful of his wish to hold off on another go for the time being. She dressed in her outfit from before and Hatter helped her brush her hair so it was no longer clear what they had been doing. When they finally left her bedroom, hand-in-hand, they joined Carol and Jim in the kitchen for Hatter's favorite meal: lasagna.

* * *

**A/N: Ahhhhh, smut. The treat of choice for shippers everywhere. I'm just saying... smut was needed to celebrate. Celebrate what, you might ask? Ah. Well, the fact that I decided against my original plot ending, which was Alice saying 'no' and Hatter getting hit by a bus. That's the sort of week I had. Hope you liked this choice instead!**


	9. Mother Doesn't Know Best

**Glad you're still here. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"David! More bread?" Carol asked, for quite possibly the one hundredth time. Hatter had eaten so much bread, in fact, that he thought he might be sick. The only reason he hadn't gotten sick already was because Alice had cooked. Small blessings, he thought as he took another roll from the basket as Carol held it under his nose.

Alice and Hatter hadn't decided whether or not to tell Carol that they were engaged before coming out to eat so Hatter didn't know if it was acceptable to scream it at the top of his lungs. Because that's all he wanted to do. He kept squeezing Alice's hand excitedly under the table in order to keep himself from internally combusting. He couldn't believe that she had said 'yes' and he wished that he had asked her if they could tell her mother. He was pretty sure Carol wouldn't be too thrilled with the idea, but he didn't really care; he just wanted to tell SOMEONE.

Hatter had yet to get a feel about Jim, the man who Carol had apparently supposed to be from Wonderland. Jim was far too boring, in Hatter's opinion, to be from anywhere but Alice's world; Alice seemed to be the only person with a fun-loving personality, at least so far as he had met. Alice was perfect. Jim was boring. And Carol was just a few cards shy of a full deck.

"So, David, what kind of job are you looking for?" Carol asked, spooning green beans on his plate without asking if he wanted any. Hatter was annoyed but he didn't let it show on his face and Alice rewarded his composure with a loving squeeze of the knee.

"I talked to a guy today who runs an antique shop who might be looking for some sort of an apprentice, but I'm not sure about it yet. I have a few more places to look. It will probably depend on what pays best," Hatter admitted. He wished that he had taken a second to tell Alice more about the jobs he was looking into… but they had been a little preoccupied. She would just have to find out this way.

"Oh that's nice! Alice, you should have David take that old watch of your father's in when he goes back!"

In addition to the watch that had played a pivotal role in the Carpenter's reintroduction to his memories, Alice's father had owned an heirloom pocket watch, which no longer ran. It was older than New York, Alice figured, and it could probably pay for a rather expensive sports car, but she refused to sell it, in spite of her mother's wishes.

"I thought you gave the Carpenter back his watch?" Hatter looked at Alice, puzzled. She paled and began to panic as her mother sat up straighter in her chair. She glanced briefly at Jim, who might as well have been a rock.

"What do you mean, David? Who's the Carpenter?" Carol asked, offering more lasagna.

"Alice's father. She gave him back his watch; I saw it on his wrist myself."

"No, David, you're confused," Alice dug her nails into his palm, trying to convince him to shut up before her mother became too suspicious. No such luck.

"How could you have known Alice's father? He disappeared ten years ago-"

"David's confused, Mom. I showed him a picture of Dad from when I was little and I told him that my Dad took his watch with him-"

Hatter realized that he had made a large mistake in admitting his knowledge of Robert Hamilton and jumped in.

"Yeah, I didn't know why she would have his watch if he took it with him. I understand now."

Alice squeezed his hand thankfully, hoping that her mother bought it. Carol looked puzzled beyond belief, taking in both Hatter and Alice with scrutiny.

"This is a pocket watch," Carol explained, shifting awkwardly in her chair as if she was reaching under the table for something with her feet. "He had his wrist watch with him."

"That makes better sense. Yeah, I'd love to take it in with me," Hatter said quickly, shoveling a forkful of green beans into his mouth, as if to prevent any other stupid things from escaping.

"Oh David, that reminds me. Would you mind taking your stuff from Goodwill out of the hallway? It's been there awhile, and it's taking up space," The Cougar asked icily, causing Alice to prickle. Her mother was going to start a fight if she wasn't careful with her judgmental peri-menopausal orders.

"No problem, I can take it home tonight," Hatter said through the mouthful of green beans. Unfortunately it came out more like 'nuu fooloo, uh kii tuh I uhm uniigh,' and Carol raised an eyebrow in disapproval. If Alice could've teleported herself and Hatter out of that dining room ANYWHERE else, she would've in an instant.

"It's my fault, Mom, We can move it after dinner," Alice apologized.

"Are you two going back to David's tonight?" Carol asked expectantly. What she expected, Alice had no idea. She imagined that Jim was staying over, since he was gathering dust, which meant that Carol necessitated some amount of privacy. Another thing about which Alice didn't wish to speculate.

Alice looked at Hatter who squeezed her hand tightly and gave her an affirmative nod.

"Yeah. We'll take his stuff then, I was going to take over a couple boxes of things anyway. I don't have a lot to move, thank goodness." Alice smiled at Hatter happily, wishing she could kiss him.

"Why tonight? No sense in rushing things!" Carol said quickly, scooping up as many dishes as her arms could hold and carting them off to the sink, where they were nearly broken by sudden drop. Jim got up, springing to life when he realized that Carol's very delicate internal balance was on the verge of jumping over the edge. For a man who had only just met her, Alice had to give him credit; he read Carol like a big book of mental issues.

"If I'm going over there, I might as well bring some stuff with me," Alice reasoned calmly, not wishes to upset Carol further. Hatter rubbed her knee in encouragement. "It'll save time in the long run."

"David, Jim… would you mind letting us talk?" Carol asked, calmer and more reasonable than Alice had ever heard. Hatter gave a quick nod to Jim, kissed Alice's hand, and vacated the kitchen, hoping that Alice wouldn't get screamed at. Jim followed too, dumbly.

"Alice… I don't think it's fair to you if I don't tell you how I feel about this," Carol said calmly once the men had left the kitchen. Alice patted on Hatter's chair for her to sit and she did, though reluctantly. Carol spoke quietly, in an attempt to assuage hysteria.

"I know you're not a child. That has been clear to me for a while now. But I don't know if I'm ready to let you… fly the coop just yet. I mean, David's great, honey, and I haven't any reasons why you shouldn't see him… but you've only been together about a month! And moving in with someone that quickly into a relationship is a recipe for disaster. Unless you intend to marry David, and even then… this is a huge step and I think it should be better planned out. That being said… if you want to move in with him I won't stop you, but I want you to know where I stand." She finished and folded her hands in her lap. Alice took a moment to digest what she had said and react accordingly. Carol didn't agree with it but she wasn't going to stop them. That was a step at least.

"Thank you for being honest with me. The first thing I want to say is that David moved here for me… regardless of whether or not you agree with that, it's a rather important dynamic of our relationship. I'm in love with him, and I have been longer than a month. We do intend to get married at some point." Alice paused, giving Carol time to react if she wanted to. She did.

"I thought he lived in New York before you met…"

"It's a little more complicated than that. Just know that he moved here just for me."

"And… you're not planning to get married for a while, right?"

"We have three months to get married before his visa expires."

Carol paled and fanned her face.

"Three…"

"Yes."

"What else did you want to say?" Carol almost whispered, trying very hard not to panic.

"I've stayed with you, here, because we both weren't ready to let go of Dad… we needed each other," Alice felt her eyes start to burn. "You're the only parent I have left, Mom. And you're really important to me… It's important that you let me go, and that you support my decision to marry David. I'm almost 21 and we'll wait until after my birthday if that's what you want, but I'm going to marry him, Mom." She wiped a tear trail and sniffed. Carol too was crying and got them a box of tissues to share.

"Look at you, Mom! A new man! We're both making peace with our memories of Dad. You'll be able to live without me just fine… and the family will love David, so we'll come visit you guys for every holiday. Except for Christmas; I want to show him New York at Christmas. But we can come down for a late celebration and stay through New Years! I just think-"

"Honey. Thank you. You don't have to go one." Carol smiled, wiping her eyes.

"Jim seems nice," Alice offered kindly, though in all truth she didn't know a thing about him other than that he apparently liked her mother.

"He won't last," Carol admitted almost silently. "Truth is, your father was it. I'm just hoping that I'll find somebody sort of like me, that doesn't need a spouse, just a person to make sure that they're not alone."

"And that's not Jim?"

"No… though Jim is good for many things, he's not a very deep well," Carol said, biting her lip and Alice laughed.

"Mom! You're a cougar!"

"Oh stop," Carol laughed. She took Alice's hand and squeezed it. "If this is what you want, I'll support you 100%."

"This is what I want."

"Then we'd better start planning! We have a wedding to put together in three months!" Carol stood up and blew her nose like a goose.

"Mom… I don't want anything big and crazy-"

"Lucky for you, there isn't enough time to plan anything big."

"Ok… I mean… just a small ceremony, just close family and a few friends." Alice stood up and Carol hugged her tightly.

"Ok, honey. I'll go call the Plaza," Carol clapped her hands in delight and flounced out of the kitchen a changed woman. Alice just rolled her eyes and leaned back against the counter, laughing. Leave it to Carol to think that a 'small wedding' meant the Plaza. Oh well, it was one of Alice's favorite places anyway. Hatter came in the kitchen a few seconds later, baffled.

"Do you know that your mother is crazy?" He walked to her and Alice laughed, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"She's excited to plan our wedding."

Hatter raised an eyebrow in concern.

"Don't worry. I told her and… she took it pretty well, surprisingly. I told her we want a small wedding… was I right?" Alice asked and Hatter hugged her to his chest tightly.

"You were right." He kissed the top of her head. "I need to give you a ring."

"No 'Ring of Wonderland'?" She joked and Hatter laughed heartily, happiness resonating in his chest.

"Nope. You'll have to settle for one of those silver ones from that place where the girl ate her breakfast in that movie…" He scratched his head trying to remember what movie Alice had forced him to sit through.

"Tiffanys?!" Alice pushed back from him and held onto his lapels. "Hatter, we can't afford-"

He put a finger to her lips.

"I," He grinned. "Can afford anything when it comes to you."

* * *

"Hatter… how in the world-"

"Cam told me what you like. So I went and got stuff… I hope that's ok," Hatter said bashfully as Alice surveyed their fully furnished apartment. She was absolutely shocked.

"This is… this is all from Anthropologie… seriously?" Alice sat down on a couch that she had admired countess times in her favorite store. It was ten times more comfortable now that she owned it.

"That store is great. I understand why you like it so much! The woman talked me out of buying a giant emu made out of book pages, but I was tempted." He said, completely serious and Alice just laughed.

"Hatter… this is beautiful but… I just don't see how-"

"Alice, my contact went back to Wonderland. There is nobody from my side left in your world, next to us. He told me that there is no possible way for us to spend all of the money that is available to us, even if we buy out every store in New York. Please do not worry about money." He sat down next to her and patted her knee. Alice looked at him, surprised.

"So… technically you don't have to work."

"Nope. Though what the point would be in sitting around all day, I'm not sure."

"Well if you don't need a visa, we might as well not get married," She teased. Hatter looked hurt before he caught the look in her eye.

"Oh no, you don't!" He tickled her until he had her pinned on the couch and kissed her sweetly. Hatter reached under the pillow behind her head and pulled out a little blue box. He rested his chin on her stomach and set the box in front of his nose, going cross-eyed. Alice laughed and took the box, holding it against her chest.

"Open it," He instructed with a smile. Alice did so, slowly. She knew where the blue box was from, but she hadn't expected him to have it already. Inside the blue box was another small velvet box. Hatter nodded to it and she popped it open.

Alice cried a lot in her life. Movies, commercials, touching stories, the works, but never at the drop of a hat. But as soon as she opened that box, she couldn't help but let her eyes well up with happy tears. She looked up, to try to keep them at bay but it was no use and she wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"You don't like it?" Hatter asked timidly, unsure of how to translate her tears. Alice shook her head and smiled slightly.

"It's perfect," She whispered, touching her hand to her mouth. Hatter took the box from her, sitting up so he could pop the ring out of the box and slip it on her finger. Alice looked at it up close, crying and smiling at the same time. She sat up and kissed Hatter lovingly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I got it this morning, before I went to the immigration office."

"But… that was before you knew about the Visa… you said that that made you think-"

"It did. But I didn't say that I hadn't thought about it before. I thought I'd buy it in case I ever got up the courage to ask you, I just happen to have excellent timing." He grinned and Alice couldn't help but laugh.

"Nobody can accidentally plan things like you," She hugged him, still giggling.

"So you like it…"

"I love it. I don't think I could've picked anything more perfect." Alice kissed his stubbly cheek and looked at it again. "Got anything else to show me that you accidentally did perfectly?"

"Well… you haven't seen the rest of the apartment," He grinned, pulling her to her feet.

* * *

**A/N: Surprise! I like proposals. I cry no matter what. I may have gotten misty writing this. I'll admit it. :)**


	10. What If

**A wee bit o' angsty. Hope you enjoy besides! :)**

* * *

_"Alice, it's your mother. The Plaza can't book only three months in advance so I'm calling Terrace on the Park. We need to go dress shopping tomorrow! Love you!"_

"Alice, it's Mom. Terrace on the Park is booked until November. How do you feel about Central Park? The boat house maybe? How many bridesmaids are you planning on having? Call me!"

"Alice, honey, I need your guest list! Is Hatter's family coming? I would LOVE to get dinner with his parents if they're in town! I called Kleinfelds and they have an opening tomorrow at 2-"

"STOP! TURN. THE MACHINE. OFF." Alice threw the couch pillow over her eyes as Hatter hurried to cut off Carol's voice on the answering machine. Getting a landline for their apartment had been the biggest mistake of their short lives, and Alice had tried to explain to Carol more than once why she couldn't leave 800 messages on their answering machine. Alice unplugged the phone from the wall and stuck it in the oven, tempted to turn it on. She returned to the couch and covered her face again.

"If she calls again…" Alice trailed off, muffled by the pillow. Hatter laughed heartily and pulled the pillow off Alice's face.

"If you'd return her calls, maybe she wouldn't continue leaving messages," He offered, rather unhelpfully. Alice scowled.

"She is going insane. Seriously. As if she wasn't crazy before, now she's nuts. She's trying to plan this wedding in the span of a week and we told her TWO days ago!"

"Alice. Sweetheart," Hatter sat on the edge of the couch next to her. "If your only daughter was getting married in little less than three months, wouldn't you go crazy too?"

"I am NOT the crazy Hamilton. I-" her phone began playing the 'Flight of the Bumblebees' on the coffee table. Alice groaned, grabbing her phone and flipping it open violently. Hatter took it from her calmly and answered.

"Hello, Carol," He said cheerfully, holding Alice back as she tried to take her phone back and give her mother what-for. "Nope, she's taking a shower. Yeah, she's getting ready to go dress shopping. Mmhmm, that's all she can talk about," He grinned at Alice and stood up as she lunged for him. She tugged on his arm, trying to get at the phone and he switched hands so he could grab her around the waist with his right arm. Alice was now plastered against his body, arms pinned at her side helplessly. Hatter pressed her seductively against the wall, licking her earlobe. Alice pouted.

"Ok, Carol. I'll tell her. Uh… no… I… actually I don't know. They… they might be in India or something. Sure, I'll tell you as soon as I know. Ok. Goodbye. Uh huh. Yep. Ok. Yeah. Yeah. Good- Ok Carol. Goodbye!" He hung up quickly, tossing Alice's cell over his shoulder and kissing the end of Alice's nose. Her cell landed expertly on the couch with a small thud.

"I hate you so much right now," She whispered petulantly as he pinned her hands to her sides.

"She wants to know if my parents are coming," He said softly, ignoring her childish remark, and kissing her neck sensuously.

"What did you tell her?" She asked brokenly, trying to move her arms.

"I said I didn't know…" He sucked the pressure point at the base of her neck and Alice nearly went limp. "And that they might be in India."

"India?"

"Yeah, why not?" Hatter held her wrists with his right hand, snapping the front of her bra through her shirt. Alice gasped as he unhooked it with one finger.

"How do you do that?" She asked incredulously and Hatter chuckled.

"Number one, you always wear the ones that fasten in the front, so I've had a lot of practice. Number two… doesn't matter because you've forgotten all about how you have to go shopping with your mother in an hour." He grinned as Alice closed her eyes and silently swore. "I love you," He sang, nuzzling her cheek.

"You are going to make me so late if you keep that up." She breathed, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

"Do you love me?" Hatter asked, grazing over her shoulders and intertwining his fingers with hers. She looked up at him and felt something overwhelm her more than it ever had before; an incredible feeling that she couldn't exactly put into words. Alice inclined her head and caught his lips lovingly, pressing her free hand to his chest.

"Do you want your parents to come to the wedding?" She whispered, head against his chest. His grip on her hand tightened involuntarily. Hatter kissed her temple and walked into the kitchen, calling over his shoulder.

"You'd better get ready, you'll be late."

Alice sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

Hatter was leaning against the counter when Alice touched his shoulder. He hadn't heard her come in and he wheeled around, nearly socking her in the face with a right hook. If Alice hadn't been a black belt, he probably would've hit her hard enough to break bones. As it was, he barely grazed her shoulder as she lunged out of the way.

"Whoa! It's ok!" Alice grabbed his arm and Hatter stared at her in horror.

"I am so sorry…" He breathed, almost paralyzed at the thought of hitting her. Hatter shrugged her hand off of him and stepped back. Only then did Alice realize that his eyes were wet with tears.

Hatter made a beeline for the balcony, slamming the glass door behind him so hard that it shattered. He sat against the railing on the balcony, clutching his right arm as if to keep it from acting on its own.

Alice stood frozen in the kitchen, glittering shards of glass around her feet. She hopped up on the counter and scooted over to the pantry to retrieve the broom. After a quick sweep of the kitchen and corralling most of the pieces of the door, Alice stepped through the door frame and knelt, placed her hands on Hatter's shoulders.

"I'm sorry I snuck up on you," She said, brushing his cheek just like he had all the times she'd ever cried in his arms. He didn't make eye contact with her. He was so ashamed of himself. Alice rested her chin on his knee and rubbed his leg.

"What if I had hit you?" He muttered.

"You didn't hit me," She replied kindly, prying his hand from his arm and holding it between hers.

"What if I had?" Hatter finally looked at her with red, pained eyes. The look made Alice hurt so much she felt like the air had been knocked out of her. She didn't have an answer for him. If he had hit her, they would be having a very different conversation.

"I have quick reflexes," She finally said and Hatter shook his head, hitting it against the railing behind him. "Hey, knocking yourself out doesn't solve anything."

Hatter smiled slightly, so small Alice would've missed it if she had blinked. From the living room, the 'Flight of the Bumblebees' sounded and Alice frowned.

"You should get that." Hatter said softly.

"My Mom can go shopping alone." She smiled. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Hatter knew she wasn't talking about how he almost hit her, or how he'd broken the glass door. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Alice waited patiently.

"They were executed… part of the bribe to keep me loyal to the Queen." Hatter held their clasped hands tightly against his knee, sitting on his right hand as if he still didn't trust himself. "I got to watch."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked gently, shocked beyond belief. He shrugged slightly.

"I don't know. I didn't want to have a pity party when your Dad just-"

"Hatter, of all people, you would be the last to have a pity party."

Alice suddenly understood; this was the kind of information one earned from Hatter, not something he told everyone who he met. Hatter wasn't an open book.

"I guess I wanted to be sure you weren't gonna send me back through the Looking Glass."

"I would never-"

"I know," He held her hand against his heart. "I know that NOW. Now that you're marrying me," His breath caught and he smiled at her, unable to finish. Alice felt her own eyes well at his confession and she rested her cheek on his knee, smiling happily.

"You miss them," She said softly. It wasn't a question; it was an echo of what she felt for her father. He nodded.

"You're gonna be late," He encouraged gently, a cue to Alice that he was alright.

"Come with me?"

"To shower? Sure… I mean, I'd never turn THAT down, but you'll be even more late…"

Alice giggled, cuffing him playfully on the cheek.

"I mean to buy my dress. And the shower too."

"Wait… I shouldn't see your dress until the wedding, though… right? Isn't that how girls do it here?" He asked, pushing back his hat further on his head.

"Usually, but were not really a traditional couple. And I want your feedback; I don't wanna buy a dress that you'll have a hard time taking off," She grinned, standing. Hatter seemed to take this into great consideration before standing.

"You do have a point."

"Good. It's settled." Alice folded herself against his chest, pulling his right arm around her first to prove that she trusted him. He held her as tightly as he dared. Suddenly, something else occurred to him.

"Alice… what color dress are you going to buy?"

"White… why?"

"Can you buy a white dress? I mean… you're not exactly a… you know. We've done it. A lot." He seemed to struggle more with saying the word 'virgin' than telling her about his parents, a fact that amused Alice to no end.

"It would be best for the sake of my very traditional grandparents if I bought a white dress. They're still under the impression that I don't know what a 'penis' is."

"They'd be wrong," He chuckled.

"Yes, they would," She smiled, kissing his stubbly chin. "Unless… is this a penis?" She asked mischeviously, pinching his nipple through his shirt.

"Mmmm… nope," He growled.

"How about… this," She squeezed his ass as he kissed her, smiling against his mouth.

"Definitely not. Come on, little oyster. I'll do your grandparents a favor," He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, causing Alice to gasp. She giggled as he turned to walk back inside the house and their neighbor was watering the balcony instead of her plants in shock. Alice waved at the woman innocently and Hatter carried her purposefully inside through the broken door. He turned back to observe the damage, flinging Alice around.

"I should probably fix that now…" He teased, stroking one of her thighs.

"I like it that way," She laughed as Hatter shrugged and turned, flinging her around once more. Her phone rang as they entered the living room and without a second thought, Hatter went to the phone and answered it.

"Hello Carol. Yeah, she'll be a little late. I'd say… an hour or so. Yup. Ok. Mmhmm. I'll get back to you on that. Ok. Buh-bye." He threw the phone down on the couch again and marched Alice to the bathroom.

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you think, lovelies!**


	11. The Visitors

**Charlie! That is all. :)**

* * *

The clock read 3 am when Alice glanced at it through groggy eyes. Someone was pounding on the front door and ringing the doorbell like it was his or her job. She groaned, trying to ignore it. It persisted and Alice threw her pillow over her head.

"Hatter… Hatter," She nudged him with a sharp elbow and he barely flinched, mumbling something like 'no tea today.' When the knocking continued, Alice hit Hatter with her pillow.

"Hatter!"

"…Hmmm?"

"Someone's at the door."

"That's nice."

"Go get it!"

"You get it!"

"What if it's a robber?"

"Alice, robbers don't ring the doorbell…" Hatter trailed off, rolling over. Alice huffed, throwing back the covers.

As soon as her feet met the bare wood, she shrieked, jumping into Hatter's leather boots, which were way too big for her. She silently swore all the way the foyer, trying to think of ways to get back at Hatter, short of cutting off sex. That wasn't negotiable.

After slamming into a chair, the coffee table, and nearly knocking a lamp off the hall table, Alice reached the door, cranky and bruised. She tried to look through the peephole but her eyes were too bleary. Another round of ding-dongs and she thought she might snap.

"Coming!" She yelled, wrenching the door open. Alice blinked a few times, closed the door, opened it again, and rubbed her eyes.

"Charlie?"

"Alice of Legend!" The White Knight boomed, hugging her so enthusiastically that he lifted her off the ground. He spun her around again, as if to unwind her.

"Alice, this is my wife, Dorinda," He said proudly, presenting the little woman Alice had briefly glimpsed during Charlie's whirlwind hug. The little woman tottled over, extending a plump hand.

"Your wife?" Alice said, confused. "Nice to meet you, Dorinda. Sorry, that was rude."

"Not at all," Dorinda cooed, smiling.

"Where is your Harbinger?" Charlie asked and Alice knew Charlie's marriage story would have to wait.

"Asleep," She thumbed back towards their bedroom.

"Whatever for? Surely he heard the lovely dinging bell!"

"Actually, no," Alice grimaced, wondering then if maybe he had heard the bell after all. That would deserve a harsher punishment if that were the case. "Besides, it's three in the morning!"

"I shall awaken the Vassal," Charlie announced, minstrel-strutting to the door Alice had indicated.

"I wouldn't, Charlie-"

"Nonsense!" The arrant burst through the door and Hatter almost immediately yelped. A second later, something heavy hit the ground and Alice was pretty positive that it wasn't Hatter. The 'Vassal' scooted out of the bedroom, grabbing a washcloth from the hall closet and sprinted back into the room. A few moments more and Hatter came out of the bedroom, supporting Charlie. Charlie was clutching his nose with the cloth.

"What happened?" Dorinda squeaked and Alice was pretty sure she could formulate exactly what had happened.

"I think I broke his nose," Hatter shot a look to Alice, who laughed softly, shaking her head. She made for Charlie but Dorinda beat her to it. Hatter stepped back to Alice as Dorinda pulled a few tiny glass bottles out of her purse.

"That's not tea is it…" Hatter said warily and Alice grabbed his bare arm. He wasn't wearing a shirt but he had at least managed pajama pants. Alice couldn't be sure when he put them on; she wasn't exactly paying attention to his state of dress the night before. More like undress.

"It's not tea," Dorinda reassured him as she dropped the second bottle in her purse. She had administered two drops of each liquid into Charlie's nose.

"You might want to step back, I'm going to have to reset Charlie's nose," the woman instructed and Hatter groaned guiltily. He turned his back to Charlie and Dorinda shamefully and stared at Alice's feet. She cupped his cheek and he finally met her eyes, though he felt quite guilty.

"That could've been you," he winced at the crack of Charlie's nose. Charlie apparently felt nothing but passed out anyway.

"It wasn't me," Alice said sweetly, fingers gracing over his collarbone. He made a face of protest, but Alice shook her head to silence him.

"Do you need a place to stay?" Alice asked Dorinda, who was cleaning her hands with the washcloth.

"We do," She conceded. "I'm sorry to inconvenience you."

"I'm sorry I broke his nose," Hatter said regretfully. "He did scare the living daylights out of me."

"You can take the couch, it's a pull-out bed," Alice said, squeezing Hatter's hand. "We'll get the sheets.

"Thank you," Dorinda said gratefully. Charlie drooled on her skirts.

Alice held fast to Hatter's hand, dragging him to the closet. He just looked at her, ashamed.

"Don't," She warned gently, opening the closet and handing him a large quilt.

"Did you not see what I did to him?"

"Hatter. How many times have we had sex?" She whispered and his cheeks flushed.

"Alice, we have company!"

"Come on. Ballpark. How many times?" Alice crossed her arms. Hatter seriously thought about it but couldn't come up with a number.

"Let's say, we've had sex twenty times. That is twenty times that you have never hurt me. At least not in a bad way," She grinned, stroking his arm. "You never hit me. You never grabbed me too hard, except for a few bruises, all of which I begged for," Hatter held the quilt in front of his body, sucking in breath sharply. "If you snuck up on me, I'd probably throw you. Charlie scared the shit out of you and you protected yourself. That's all. Now unless you would like to sleep on the couch with Charlie and Dorinda, I suggest you keep your mouth shut about your arm. Besides, I think it's sexy." Alice skirted by him and took the sheets out into the living room, leaving Hatter dumbfounded in the hallway.

It was awhile before Alice felt tired again when she and Hatter had returned to their room. She listened to the gentle breaths as Hatter slept beside her, right arm wrapped around her waist. Hatter began talking in his sleep, mumbles mostly, but sighed softly into her hair.

"…Alice… I love… you… you have… pretty hair." He said and Alice giggled, shaking lightly against him. He tightened his hold, tracing light circles on her stomach. "Tea?... oh, yes please… love you…" He said nothing else. Alice linked her fingers through his lightly.

He loved her very much and told her so often, whether sleeping or awake. It filled her with so much joy that she felt like her heart would burst whenever he said it. She felt herself becoming emotional the more she thought about it. The only man that had ever been constant in her life was David Hatter, and he would do so the rest of her life. The one time Alice had asked Hatter about divorce in Wonderland, he had asked if it was a unique emotion that Wonderland had yet to hear of. When she explained that in a way, it was exactly that, he suggested that Earth keep 'divorce' to itself. Wonderland didn't need more contrived teas to tear it apart. Marriages lasted in Wonderland and that was that. She need not worry that he would die in a collapse of another card castle explosion, he reassured her one time. He would never leave her.

Alice cried softly, thinking about him, and about her father. She had traded one wonderful man for another, though she wished above all things that her father would be able to be at her wedding. She still blamed herself for his death. If she had just left when Hatter had told her to, he would still be alive. He wouldn't be on Earth, but he would be alive. And now she had Hatter here… and he was everything to her… but a part of her couldn't help but wish that there had been a way for her to see them in the same room, the most important men in her life at her side. The day the Carpenter had died didn't count; Hatter hadn't yet told her of his intentions and in that casino hall, she had been on the verge of losing them both. If Hatter hadn't come to her, to Earth, she would have.

"Baby," Hatter whispered, brushing her hair off her shoulder. "Why are you crying?" Alice turned in his arms at his insistence but couldn't make eye contact. He kissed her shoulder, resting his chin on it and urging Alice to speak.

"I didn't think you were awake," She whispered back, wiping her eyes with the pads of her thumbs.

"I had a bad dream; you were crying in my dream… so I woke up."

"That's a lie…" She laughed through her tears and Hatter chuckled.

"So what?" He smiled, rubbing her arm. "Why are you crying?" He asked gently again, nudging her cheek with his nose and resting his cheek on her shoulder. Alice sighed, lacing her fingers with his and holding it against her heart.

"You… you love me."

"And that makes you cry?" He laughed lightly.

"Don't make fun of me," She whimpered, though she couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sorry. Start again," Hatter urged.

"I dunno… It's hard to explain." Alice shook her head slightly. "Hatter…" Something suddenly occurred to her. "When did my father give you that note for me, the one on yellow paper?"

Hatter sat up slightly, propping his head up with his elbow and thinking.

"When he first arrived in Wonderland as an Oyster. He fell through the Looking Glass, as you did. I didn't own my shop then, I was just a runner for the Resistance. I thought he was a suit."

"When did he give you the note?"

"After the scarab spotted him. He had a black bag with him and he tore a sheet off a yellow pad of paper and scribbled on it, told me to give it to you if I ever met you. I told him the chances of that happening were slim but he insisted. He was very kind. His only concern was making sure you knew where he had gone in case he couldn't return."

Alice felt her eyes well again. Hatter had known her father, although very briefly.

"I'm sorry about him…" Hatter said kindly. Alice shook her head quickly, squeezing his hand.

"He would've liked you, getting to know you," She said softly.

"He did," Hatter smiled. "For the hour he was in my company, he was everything you've always painted him to be; kind, a gentleman, and concerned for you above all things."

"I th-think you know him better than I did," Alice whispered, curly towards him as her tears fell harder.

"He loved you," Hatter kissed her forehead tenderly. "You have to know that."

"Why didn't you tell me you had met him, when we first met?"

Hatter shifted so Alice was tucked into his side, under his chin.

"It was difficult for me to tell whether or not you were really his daughter, until you got his watch from Jack. You knew his name, so it had to be you. After that, you kept running away…" He tickled her arm slightly and smiled. "And it got to the point where I wasn't sure I could stand your reaction if… if you would hate me for it, run away again, and that would be it. Either the Queen would kill you… or you'd ran back home with the Prince."

"You mean Prince Puke," Alice corrected and Hatter laughed heartily.

"Never, in all my life, did I think I'd hear those words out of your mouth," Hatter grinned, reaching to his side table to grab his handkerchief. He swiped the light cloth gently beneath her eyes and smiled, kissing her cheek.

"I have an idea. Do you wanna hear it?" He asked, brushing her cheek.

"Mmhmm," Alice smiled finally.

"Charlie and Dorinda… do you think I look like them?"

Alice raised an eyebrow, confused.

"If you squint, maybe. Why?"

"I think… I think I've just found my parents." Hatter offered and her face lit up.

"Oh my God… I didn't even think about that… that's so perfect!"

"I know… They are… weird-"

"But so are you, so that isn't a problem," Alice grinned when he scowled. "And they sound like you too. My mom would certainly believe they're British."

"It's so perfect. I'll ask them about it in the morning."

"They also need some place to live-"

"Thought of that," He smiled triumphantly. "There's another Resistance apartment in New York. I'm going to go break in- I mean check it out tomorrow."

"If it's Jack's apartment, the bathroom window can't lock. You can access it by the fire escape. Just got to muscle it open."

"Brilliant. I knew you were good for something. Though," He grimaced. "I don't want to know how you know that about the window."

"The same reason you know how hard to close the balcony door."

"…You slammed the window shut?"

"Jack pissed me off once, while I was in the bathroom, trying to get away from him. So I climbed out the window and slammed it shut. It never closed right after that."

Hatter seemed quite pleased with this answer, though he got a funny look on his face a moment later.

"I know this seems a little belated… but you and Jack never… you know."

"No," Alice smiled. "Though… would it matter if we had?"

"It would give me a reason to return to Wonderland."

"You'd leave me?" She asked, hitting his arm.

"No, I'd be back. I'd just have to go kill the jackass for beating me to the punch. Or… punch him for… you get it. He'd be dead." Hatter looked quite serious but Alice laughed.

Hatter traced delicate patterns on her arm, then her back.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah… I'm ok."

"I love you, my Alice," He kissed her lips lightly.

"Do you want me to cry again?" Alice covered her face.

"Will you cry every time I tell you that I love you?"

"Probably," She said, muffled by her hands and Hatter smiled, laughing.

"Then yes. I want you to cry all the time, every day, for the rest of our lives."

"I'll use a lot of Kleenex."

"I'll buy you a Kleenex factory."

"What?" Alice laughed, looking up at him.

"I'll buy you a handkerchief factory. I'll buy you a house made entirely out of Kleenex and handkerchiefs." Hatter rolled to his back, holding her against his chest tightly.

"You're very thoughtful." Alice giggled. "Thank you."

'I love you,' he mouthed, winking.

* * *

**A/N: Just about the only thing I own in this story is Dorinda and Carol's puppy Jim. Ha. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	12. This House is Not a Home

**I'm glad you're back! Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Can I take off the blindfold?" Alice huffed. The blindfold was actually Hatter's tie, which he had whipped off and tied over her face seconds after leaving their apartment.

"Nope," He grinned, more to himself, as he careened around a bend in the road. "Not yet. It's a surprise."

With the unlimited funds provided by the Resistance, Hatter had purchased a Mazda Miada. He liked it over a shiny new car and Alice didn't have the heart to tell him that it was a junker. She refused to ride in it until he had it completely serviced. $5000 later, here she was, blindfolded, being driven by the world's worst driver in a death machine.

"You're not even gonna give me a hint where we're going?"

"Hmmm… You've been there before."

"Well THAT'S specific," Alice sighed and Hatter chuckled.

"Relax! I thought you like surprises!"

"You owe me big time for letting you drive."

"I know," He rubbed her knee lovingly.

Hatter pulled up at the address Carol had given him and instructed Alice to let him open her door. He helped her out, led her up to the door and unlocked it.

"Watch your step…" He warned, taking her arm and leading her across carpet that felt strangely familiar under her shoes. After repositioning her about eight times, Hatter finally put his hands on her shoulders and pulled at the tie on her blindfold.

Alice felt all the blood drain from her face, eyes glaze over, knees lock as she recognized where they were. She grabbed Hatter's arm to catch herself before she fell.

"Surprise!" Hatter announced, oblivious to Alice's shock.

She tried to speak but nothing came out.

"Alice? Honey, are you all right?"

Alice drank in the front entry that had haunted her from the Hearts Casino to her dreams, unsure whether she was more mortified or shocked that Hatter had brought her to her childhood home. Hatter jogged to the coat rack by the door and tossed his porkpie hat on top.

"So? Whaddaya think?" He asked, holding out his arms to present his surprise again, as if expecting her to suddenly burst into excitement. Alice finally found her strangled words, pulling at the frayed edges of her coat.

"What is it?" She asked brokenly.

"What do you mean?" He laughed. "It's your house!"

"Yes-"

"And our house too if you want it to be." Hatter cupped her cheek. Alice felt as if she might throw up. Hatter sensed her discomfort and grabbed her hands. "I bought it."

"You bought it?"

"Yes. From Carol. So she can go to Carolina and buy her ginger-beer house or whatever. It's not like the Resistance is going to run out of money. I thought you would be happy to be here again… was I wrong?" He looked timidly at her from under his too-long bangs and Alice smiled in spite of herself.

"I… There are just a lot of feelings surrounding this house… I don't know what to feel about it, honestly."

"Like what?" He asked gently, sitting her down on the stairs.

"Loss… my Dad disappeared from this house. My mom had her breakdown here, I lost Dina here-"

"Dina?"

"My cat…"

"Oh. Don't you have happy memories of living here?"

"Sure… but all those memories included Dad. We moved out months after he disappeared, left anything that wasn't essential. Clearly," Alice gestured to the dusty furniture that screamed late-70s.

"So you… wouldn't want to live here again…" Hatter's face fell.

"I just… need to think about it."

"At the very least, will you look around with me?"

Hatter successfully coaxed Alice into looking around the musty house with the promise that they could leave if it made her too upset. They split up for a while, Alice braving her father's office, and Hatter attacking her old room. When she finally caught up with him, Hatter was poised like a little teenage girl on her bed, reading her diary.

"Hatter! Are you reading my diary?"

"Is that what this is? It seems more like an adolescent sounding board for trivial problems. It is strangely addicting," he admitted when Alice put her hands on her hips in defense.

"Well, in crude terms I suppose. Find anything worth a laugh?" She sat next to him and he flipped through a few pages.

In big red letters read the word WEDDING. Hatter waggled his eyebrows at her and cleared his throat.

"Ahem. When I marry Johnny St. Cloud, I want to get married in a big castle. I want daisies and nine bridesmaids and a big red carpet. I will wear a yellow dress because white is boring. My mum will be my maid of honor because she is my best friend-"

"Ok, that's enough-" Alice dove for the diary but Hatter easily dodged her, holding her at arms length.

"-best friend in the whole world, except for my husband Johnny St. Cloud-"

"Hatter!" She reached for it again, but he slapped her hand away, pushing her onto her stomach and sitting on her.

"Not so fast! I'm not done reading. I should probably know what you want before we tie the knot, eh?" Alice groaned, face in her pillow. "Mmhmm, just as I thought. I knew you would want to invite the Queen, but I'm sorry, my dear Alice, that just won't be possible. She might steal your ring and then where would we be?"

"Hate... you..." She said, muffled by the down pillow.

I hate you too, my darling." Hatter chuckled, slapping the diary shut. "Shall I get off you now?"

"Get... off."

"As you wish, pumpkin." He vaulted off her and onto the floor, replacing the lock on the diary. Alice sat up and ripped the book out of his hand.

"It's not funny," She pouted, fingering the tattered cloth cover. "I should burn this."

* * *

"How's it feel?" Hatter handed her a glass of wine as he joined her on the floor in front of the fireplace.

"Catharic," She laughed, snuggling into his side.

"I hope you remembered all of those wedding details that you had planned. I wanna be sure to be true to your wishes."

"Hatter, I don't want 9 bridesmaids, daisies, or a yellow dress. I would get married without my Mom, if at all possible."

"And Johnny St. Cloud?" He asked with a grin.

"Who?"

Hatter kissed her cheek and laughed.

"We could, you know..."

"Hmmm?"

"Get married without your Mum." He expected her to immediately protest but she said nothing. "How do you feel about the house?" Again, Alice remained silent. The phone rang and Hatter hopped up, leaving Alice to whatever thoughts she was keeping to herself.

Staring into the fire, Alice watched all her childhood dreams burn. None of them had come true, at least not the way she had dreamt them. She hadn't dreamed of marrying a con artist, of finding every reason to avoid her mother, of living in the house her father built without her father, but then again, she had never dreamed of finding out what lay beyond the looking glass. Thought she would never tell Hatter this, a part of Alice missed the forward-thinking Jack. The Heart prince had never looked to the past; it was the future that mattered to her former fiance. But as Hatter sat beside her again and clinked his wine glass against hers, any regrets melted away. Her con artist kept her grounded in the memories that mattered, even the painful ones, and ultimately reminded her of the things that had shaped her life. Hatter wasn't _just_ concerned about their future together, he was concerned about who she really was, and why.

"That was Charlie. Dorinda has offered to help with the wedding in any way she can, you just say the word. Apparently she's an excellent seamstress." Hatter smiled, brushing an errant wisp of hair behind her ear.

"Hatter..."

"Yes, love."

"I think we should elope."

* * *

**A/N: Sigh. I love hearing what you've got to say, so let me know!**


	13. Before He Was a Knight

**Surprises ahead... and Charlie!**

* * *

From the day he was born, Charles Eustice Fatheringay LeMalvoy the Third was the fourth wheel on the tricycle of life. Son of a royal cook and a midwife, Charlie took after no one in his family, mostly because he rarely left the safety of the space beneath his bed.

One leg was a little too short, he was prematurely balding, but by age 20, Charlie had become a page to the White Knight at court under the great Red King. When the Great War came to the kingdom of the Knights, instead of fighting with his people, Charlie ran for the woods and did not return to the kingdom until the castle lay in ruins. His shame, doubled with naivete in the world, lead to years of delusion. Charlie roamed the forest, alone, in the armor of the White Knight, carrying the burden of the death of his people on his back.

When sense had returned, so did the White Knight's page to the court of the Red King.

It wasn't a home, but the camp that Charlie fashioned there, in the ruins of the castle throne room, was a modest display of everything he owned. It wasn't a home, no, but it was a place to sleep and pay homage to the bones of his brothers.

When he crossed paths with Just Alice and the Harbinger, Charlie's life was affected, altered in a way he couldn't place. Almost as quickly as they came, they left again, though not before showing the new White Knight his own potential. He meant to repay them for their kindness and for endowing him with a strength he didn't know that he possessed.

Jack Heart sought SIR Charles LeMalvoy's personal guidance for the reestablishment of Wonderland and suddenly, Charlie had a new purpose. He could be a kind of champion for these people, if not his own people, and it began with building rehabilitation centers for tea heads - those who were particularly addicted to the Queen's infamous elixirs. It was in one of the newest facilities, just outside the city limits, that Sir Charles Eustace Fatheringay LeMalvoy the Third, White Knight and Minister of Reparations, met a stout little nurse named Dorinda Fay.

She liked him almost instantly, a fact he didn't know until after he married her. He wasn't particularly handsome, or smart, and he never remembered when he was needed at the clinic, but Charlie was caring. He sat with a little baby girl who had been born to an addict mother one day, cooing some little song to her that had only 3 words. Dorinda watched how he rubbed the baby's back when she fussed, made some sort of formula at meal times, and always treated her as if she might break if he so much as breathed too hard. Who knows what drew Charlie to the little girl, there were plenty of nursemaids on hand, but he stayed as if charged to do so by King Jack himself.

Charlie never let on when he had decided to marry Dorinda, but the proposal came out of thin air one morning as he stood in her office. There was no pomp or circumstance, he just asked, as if bringing up the weather or the state of Wonderland's economy.

Dorinda likewise could not explain what compelled her to say yes, but she was glad that she had. It was a partnership, if not a love match, and she grew to be impossibly fond of him in all his flaws.

The decision to follow Alice and Hatter to her world was well thought out, but not without many cons. Charlie would be giving up his position as Minister of Internal Affairs (as he had been promoted), Dorinda her rehabilitation center, and they had little money to spare... but the only time Hatter returned since running after Alice, he had proclaimed the earthly world to be full of more wonders than the land so named. It couldn't be worse than the kingdom under the Queen of Hearts, and ten years of serving the people made them both tired of fixing the problems of those that did not wish to be helped.

Earth was their new home, and with Hatter's help, a happy one.

"It's a novel. It should be at least," Alice laughed as Charlie finished telling his story over the box of pizza.

"Nonsense," He smiled, a gleam in his eye. Hatter clapped the retired knight on the back and retrieved the bottle of wine, offering to Dorinda and Alice. Charlie did not drink wine, not since his self-inflicted banishment into the wilderness of Wonderland.

Alice gave Hatter a look but he shook his head slightly, indicating Charlie ever-so-slightly with his head. She nodded back and smiled at Dorinda.

"Dora, Charlie told us you would be willing to help us with wedding preparations and I still need a veil. Would you be able to help me?"

"To be sure, my dear! Whatever you would like, I would be happy to create for you. If I do not currently possess the ability to craft it, I shall learn, for my son," she indicated Hatter at this, "and yourself are the dearest family we could ever imagine." Dorinda squeezed Alice's hand.

Charlie and Dorinda had beyond embraced Hatter as their son, even going so far as to seek out adoption papers in order to make it legal in their new home. It wasn't entirely necessary, but Charlie especially felt so extremely honored to be needed that he wanted to help them in any way possible.

"Have you set a date?" Charlie asked, taking a swig of lemonade. Hatter nodded at Alice now and she smiled as he sat next to her.

"We've made a decision and we need your opinion," Hatter said, putting his arm over the back of Alice's chair.

"Yes... it's not as if we are making this decision hastily-" Alice began.

"Not at all."

"What is it, my loves?" Dorinda asked.

Alice looked up at Hatter who smiled and nodded.

"We're going to elope... we only want you two to be there and we want to do it next weekend, in New Hampshire." Alice announced and Charlie clapped his hands together.

"How romantic! We would be happy to help, wouldn't we Dor?"

"Of course we would, Char!"

"Wonderful!" Alice laughed, hugging them both and kissing Hatter.

"And... if you are interested... we have found a permanent home for you," Hatter said once the excitement had died down. They looked shocked but Alice felt relieved that he saw things her way. She just couldn't live in the home she grew up in without her father. But Charlie and Dorinda would surely be happy there, and Alice felt her heart swell as her almost in-laws nodded and chirped their thanks and consent.

Once Charlie and Dorinda had resigned to their temporary apartment, Alice stood in the kitchen in front of the sink, elbow-deep in soapy water. Hatter sneaked in, snaking his arms around her waist.

"I knew they would say yes," he chuckled when she jumped. She smiled but there was something else pulling at the corners of her mouth. "What's up?"

"I feel so terrible... my mother will never speak to me again."

"Alice, she's moving to South Carolina anyway-"

"I know," She said quickly, not wishing to start an argument. "I know. I just feel guilty. It's ok, I really don't want her there, that's the point of eloping."

Hatter rubbed her arms and sat on the counter next to the sink.

"They are so happy." He changed the subject.

"So are we," Alice giggled, flicking water at him. Hatter laughed, agreeing. The phone rang and Alice held up her hands, covered in soapy suds. Hatter jumps off the counter and skips to the phone, grinning at his fiance.

"Yello."

"David? It's Carol."

"Oh... hello _Carol_," Hatter said, rolling his eyes at Alice. She'd managed to call only three times that day, unusual because she usually found a reason to call every hour on the hour.

"Is Alice there?" Carol sounded a little anxious and Hatter held the phone up to Alice's ear. She put her shoulder up to hold the phone without his help.

"Hi Mom," Alice said, glaring at Hatter. "Is everything alright?"

"Honey, don't freak out..."

"Ok, sure, Mom you're being weird-"

"Jim and I eloped!"

Alice dropped the phone.

* * *

**A/N: It's short, my apologies. I'm not sure if I'm going to add on. I will if people like it and want to see more, however! Let me know your thoughts!**


	14. Carol's Remorse

**Because of the remarkable response, I've decided to add to this story! This is a little baby interlude because I really haven't delved into Carol's point of view so far. Enjoy, and let me know what you think! I will be adding longer chapters in the future.**

* * *

Carol wasn't the kind of woman to fall in love, and she certainly wasn't in love with Jim, the CEO of Remax. With Alice's impending marriage to David, Carol would be alone, and she couldn't bare the idea of being alone with her thoughts. She hadn't mourned her late husband for a long time, but it preyed on her if she spent too much time by herself, so when Jim asked her to marry him as they sailed high above the earth in a Remax hot air balloon, Carol said yes. Jim had already cheated on her with his secretary, but Carol didn't much care, as long as she had someone. She felt her tenuous relationship with Alice slipping through her fingers.

It wasn't David Hatter's fault that Alice was distant, in fact, Carol liked him. The problem was, Carol and Alice had been Carol-And-Alice for so long, Carol didn't know how to be Carol, and she wasn't actually sure who Carol Hamilton was. For a small portion of her life, she was the housewife. For a large portion of her life, she was the over-protective mother. Somewhere, very deep down, Carol had dreams to revisit, and she hoped that eloping would be the start of finding them again.

As she unlocked the door to the flat she had shared with Alice since her father's death, Carol felt that something was amiss. What Carol hadn't prepared herself for was the absolute emptiness that greeted her when she realized that Alice's belongings were gone. Alice was gone. The empty wine bottle Carol bought Alice for her twenty-first birthday, gone. The Don't-Kiss-the-Blackbelt apron, gone. Alice's embroidered sheets, gone. Her shoes, gone. Her special vegan shampoo, gone. Her furniture remained, but every little knick-knack that once covered them was gone.

"Looks like we've got the place to ourselves," Jim remarked, in a tone that was colored with neither innuendo nor observation.

Carol had forgotten all about Jim.

As her new husband cuddled up to the college basketball marathon on TV, Carol worked on scrounging something for dinner. At least she wouldn't have to adjust the amount of food she normally cooked. It struck her that she didn't know if Jim was allergic to anything, or just disliked a certain kind of food.

"Jim?" she called in a tone she hoped wouldn't grate his nerves.

"Hmm?"

"What sounds good for dinner?" she asked.

"Whatever," Jim replied. "I'm sure it will be good, whatever you ch—Go big blue!"

Carol sighed and began boiling water in her favorite spaghetti pot. Just as she finished setting the table, the doorbell rang.

"Care?" Jim called. "Can you get that?"

Carol abandoned the kitchen table, though her hands were partially covered with butter, and went to answer the door. She opened it to find Hatter standing on the doorstep.

"David! Come in," she said, surprised.

Hatter entered hesitantly, crushing the brim of his fedora with nervous fingers. "I've just come by to ask you to our wedding," he spat out before the door was shut. "Alice didn't want me to come, but I know that she'll look back on it and wish you were there."

"Oh," Carol breathed. "When—uh, when will it be happening?"

"Next weekend, in New Hampshire, where Alice went to summer camp," Hatter repeated, just like Alice had explained it to her best friend Cam over the phone.

Carol felt her brain race to protest the wedding occurring so soon, but then she stopped herself. Carol might not know who she is, but she knew she would be a hypocrite if she told them not to. She had to let Alice be an adult, and she wanted to have her daughter in her life. "I'd love to, David, it's so sweet of you to invite me… and Jim," Carol said, turning towards her vegetative husband. "Jim, won't it be nice going up to New Hampshire next weekend for Alice and David's wedding?"

"Wish I could, babe, but I'll be in Rio for the conference," Jim said, without turning to look at her or acknowledge Hatter's presence.

"Pity you can't make it, Jim," Hatter said politely. "Still, you're welcome, Carol."

"I'll be there," she said.

Hatter produced a little invitation with the rest of the info and handed it to Carol. "Everything starts at four, but it's going to be short, and then we're going to spend the rest of the weekend hiking and stuff."

"I'll bring my hiking boots," Carol said brightly. She and Hatter looked at one another awkwardly for a moment, until she stepped forward and hugged him. It took a second, but Hatter returned her embrace. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Hatter said. "I'd better get back home; Alice is entertaining my parents all by herself."

"I'm excited to meet them, David," Carol said.

"Goodnight," Hatter said nicely.

"Have a good night. We'll—I'll see you next weekend," she said.

Hatter left and Carol closed the door behind him. Jim said nothing to her as she walked back to the kitchen, and Carol wondered how much of the time they'd spent together actually involved talking about their lives. They talked with their bodies, and not about things that mattered beyond the bedroom. Jim wasn't a man that Carol would grow to love anymore than she was a woman capable of doing so, and yet she wanted it for herself. What Alice felt for David, for a man that would move across the world for her. All Jim had given up was a tiny, nearly empty apartment in Brooklyn. He travelled so often, Carol wondered why he had even wanted to settle down in the first place. Carol also wondered how long it would take him to leave her entirely, for something exotic and young.

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you think!**


	15. For Better

**Here it is: the long anticipated wedding. You've all been quite anxious for it, but you don't have to wait any longer. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Alice must have stared at the mirror a full two minutes before she realized someone was knocking on the door to her room. She was distracted; she knew she should've invited Carol to the wedding, but she couldn't shake the feeling that her mother didn't want to be a part of Alice's future with Hatter. It wouldn't stop Alice from marrying him, but it hurt. She knew her mother was supposed to be a part of it. So was her father, for that matter, but Alice was already doing everything in her power to accept that he wouldn't be walking her down the aisle. Thinking about that was enough to make her tear up. Not ten minutes earlier, Alice had sent Cam on a coffee run so that she could clear her head and get back in the zone. It was hard to do that in the hotel room, without Hatter there to calm her down, and she wouldn't be seeing him until she walked down the aisle towards him in a few hours.

Very quietly, Dorinda entered the room and smiled when she saw Alice's hair set in large rollers.

"Oh my dear, you look beautiful," the older woman said.

"I'm still a long way from beautiful, Dorinda. Once Cam returns with my coffee, then I'll start to look alive again." Alice yawned, pulling on her cheeks to make the sleepy bags disappear.

"Pish posh. You are a bride, and you look beautiful on principle, with or without the coffee." Dorinda squeezed Alice's shoulder.

Alice turned around on the stool to face her soon-to-be mother-in-law; fake though that title was, Dorinda took to it brilliantly. When Alice and Hatter had parted ways the previous night, Dorinda had made sure that Alice was calm and had someone to talk to until Cam arrived the next morning. Now that Cam was there too, Dorinda just checked in here and there. Here she remained, because Alice looked like she needed it.

"How did you know you were ready to marry Charlie?" Alice asked.

Dorinda sat across from Alice on the edge of the bed. She paused for a moment to consider her answer, as she did for most things. Dorinda always said exactly what she meant to say.

"Charlie is a very good man," she said. "I'm not romantic, Alice, I never was. But he has always been very kind to me, and he needs someone to make sure he has clean socks. It's a very nice thing to be needed, my dear. You're lucky; you've found a great boy."

"I had to leave the realm to find him," Alice said, smiling. "I had a heck of a time finding somebody decent in this one. Plenty of fish, but all of them guppies."

"Perhaps that's why he's so special; he's a fish from a different sea entirely!"

"And he's hot, which doesn't hurt," Cam said, pushing the door open with her foot.

Dorinda knew that Wonderland wasn't to be mentioned around Cam, or any of the other people from Alice's world, so she simply winked at Alice and they shared a smile. Dorinda left the room quietly. Cam handed Alice a cup of coffee and leaned against the vanity.

"Thanks, Cam," Alice said.

"You already know he's a hottie, you didn't need me to tell you."

"I meant for the coffee," Alice laughed.

"Welcome, girl. Ready to finish getting pretty? The car's going to be here in a few hours." Cam opened a silver briefcase that contained an impressive selection of makeup.

"Let me get a little more caffeinated, and then you can go to town on these babies," Alice said, pointing to her dark under-eye circles.

"When I'm through, you'll look like you just slept a hundred years," Cam said. "Drink up that Folgers. I would've gone to Starbucks, but apparently the closest one is an hour away. I love you, but not that much."

"That's okay. This is the best part of waking up, remember?"

Cam laughed and offered Alice cheers with her paper coffee cup. "One of the downfalls of getting married where you went to summer camp, I suppose," Cam said as she finished off her coffee.

"Yeah. That and no phone service. Okay, fairy godmother. Make me a pumpkin."

Two and a half hours later, Alice stood in a clearing behind the cabins where Hatter couldn't see her. She was also about two seconds from a panic attack. She was already ten minutes late for the ceremony that was supposed to start at four, but she couldn't get it together. She had thought she'd be able to walk herself down the aisle, but she couldn't make her legs work.

"Alice, honey?" Cam asked. She appeared from around the closest cabin, concern evident on her face.

"Can you get David?" Alice asked meekly.

"He's not supposed to see you—"

"I need him."

Cam didn't try to argue. She turned and disappeared behind the cabins again. Alice set her small bouquet of tulips down on a stump and shook out her hands nervously. She felt like she might cry at any moment and ruin all of Cam's magical skills. Her heart was racing. Alice crouched down, wedding dress be damned.

"Sweetheart?" Hatter touched her shoulder gently and Alice jumped. "You're going to ruin your beautiful dress."

Alice turned and threw her arms around his neck. "Don't look at me, you can't look at me until we're getting married," she sniffled.

Hatter smiled and held back a chuckle. "I'm not looking at you, I promise. I only assumed that your dress is very nice, because you are very nice." He wound his arms around her waist. "What's got you spooked?"

"I always thought they'd be here," Alice whispered.

"Your parents?" he asked. She nodded.

"I want to marry you, but I feel so guilty." She was so quiet, he almost couldn't hear her. She was doing everything in her power not to cry.

"Your father would've been here if he could."

"I know, but he never met you as—as _my_ Hatter, as my future." Alice squeezed her eyes shut.

"Sure he did. He gave me the note for you, remember? He knew I'd meet you in the future, even if he didn't know how." He rubbed her back.

"I wish he had."

"So do I."

"And Carol… Mom… I was so mean to her. I shouldn't have hung up on her, I should've—"

"Alice, hey," Hatter pulled her away from him slightly so he could look her in the eye. "She'll forgive you. She's your mother; that's her job." He turned away from her and gestured towards the path between the cabins. There stood Carol, wringing her hands. When she saw Hatter point to her, she waved a little. Alice looked up at Hatter in shock.

"You did this?" She whispered.

"Forgive me?" He smiled. "You need her. She's the only parent you have. Take it from me: no matter what she's done in the past, nothing is worse than having no family at all." Hatter's face was pained, but he continued to smile in spite of it.

"I'm your family," Alice said, stroking his cheek.

"Yes you are." He kissed her forehead. "I'll meet you at the end of the aisle."

Hatter released Alice and walked back towards Carol. When they passed, he said something to Carol that Alice couldn't hear. Carol took that moment to smile at him, and they exchanged a hug. Hatter disappeared behind the cabins. Alice waited for her mother to make the first move.

Carol took ages to reach Alice, it seemed. "Oh, baby. You look beautiful." Carol covered her mouth and her eyes were teary.

"Don't do that, mom, you'll make me cry off all my makeup!" Alice exclaimed. She fanned her own teary eyes.

Carol pulled Alice into her arms. "I'm sorry," she said brokenly.

"Me too," Alice said. They stayed like that for a few moments and then Carol returned to her normal, bubbly self.

"Well, now, let me look at you." She stood back and admired Alice's dress.

"Dorinda made it. Do you like it?"

"It's perfect. It's so you."

"I didn't want anything crazy elaborate," Alice said. She smoothed the ivory silk chiffon. The dress was a simple V-neck sheath, but Dorinda had embroidered a delicate floral design on the entire outer layer that made it ethereal. When Alice had seen the finished product, she had been afraid to touch it. It was a perfect fit, and she felt lovely in it.

"Did Cam do your hair?" Carol asked, brushing an errant strand away from Alice's face.

"Yes, and my makeup. Do I look okay?"

"Better than okay," Carol said, smiling. "Come on, baby. Let's get you married."

"I'm happy you're here," Alice said. She clasped her mother's hand.

"Me too. If it weren't for David, I'm not sure my pride would've let me reach out to you again."

"He's a keeper," Alice said. Carol laughed.

"Yes, he is. I'm sorry for not telling you that before now."

"You're here, and that's what matters. Love you, mom."

"I love you too, Alice." Carol hugged her daughter again.

Alice retrieved her bouquet from the stump and with Carol's help, made her way up to the ceremony.

Cam began to play a song of her own composition on her cello once Alice and Carol emerged from the cabins. It was nearly dark outside, but the whole ceremony site was illuminated by strings of lights. Charlie stood in front of a large tree, and the light strings came up to a point several feet above his head. Next to him, Hatter stood with his hands folded. Now, he looked nervous. He smiled as soon as he saw Alice. He looked handsome in a well-tailored brown three-piece suit that Alice had picked out for him. Cam's boyfriend Tommy clapped Hatter on the shoulder as Alice neared.

Carol handed Alice off to Hatter and took the bouquet. Charlie cleared his throat.

"Bienvenu!" The White Knight began. "On behalf of Alice and Hat—David, I welcome you to Camp Wanamaker. You are an important part of Alice and David's lives." From out of nowhere, Charlie produced a dinner bell, which he rung several times. The knight closed his eyes then, pressing a finger on his temple. Alice raised her eyebrows at Hatter, who bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"Feel your souls in communion, one with the other… Alice and Hatter, hear the air, the sounds of the woods, and my voice as we guide you to the place of the Imperion, the—"

"Get on with it, Charlie," Hatter whispered.

"Right," Charlie said, straightening up and pocketing his bell. He turned to Cam and produced a piece of music from his pocket. He handed her the sheet music, which she hesitantly propped up on her stand. "And a 1, and a 2!"

Cam began the piece, a strange and unique melody. Charlie cleared his throat again and Hatter scratched his eyebrow. "Oh boy," he muttered.

Charlie began to sing.

"I wonder by my troth, what thou and I  
Did, till we loved ? were we not weaned till then ?  
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly ?  
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den ?  
'Twas so ; but this, all pleasures fancies be;  
If ever any beauty I did see,  
Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee.

And now good-morrow to our waking souls,  
Which watch not one another out of fear;  
For love all love of other sights controls,  
And makes one little room an everywhere.  
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone;  
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown;  
Let us possess one world ; each hath one, and is one.

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,  
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;  
Where can we find two better hemispheres  
Without sharp north, without declining west ?  
Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;  
If our two loves be one, or thou and I  
Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die!"

Charlie stood with his eyes closed for a moment after Cam stopped playing, and then retrieved his music from her. He looked at Alice and smiled.

"Alice. Repeat after me. I, Alice, take thee, David…"

"I, Alice, take thee, David," she said, squeezing Hatter's hand. She felt her eyes start to mist.

"Into my sacred heart…"

"Into my sacred heart."

"As my husband, my partner, and my vassal…"

"As my husband, my partner, and my _vessel_," she said, winking at Hatter. He grinned.

"I will love you, honor you, and care for you…"

"I will love you, honor you, and care for you."

"Until the dust of the universe fades into eternity." Charlie finished with a tinkle of his bell.

"Until the dust of the universe fades into eternity," Alice said. It was an offbeat ceremony, but then again, it was Charlie. They went with it.

Hatter repeated the same vows and Alice couldn't stop the tears from falling, then.

"I now pronounce you Harbinger and Wife! You may seal your union with a kiss," Charlie said, smiling.

Hatter stepped closer to her, brushed her hair behind her ears, and touched her lips with his own.

* * *

**A/N: There she is! I hope you enjoyed it. This has been a long time coming. :)**

**The song Charlie sings is a poem called "The Good Morrow" by John Donne.**


End file.
